VodafoneThree Plans Scotland-Norway Cable Study

Press Office, VodafoneThree
November 10, 2026

VodafoneThree has announced a feasibility study for a high-speed subsea cable corridor connecting mainland Scotland, Shetland, and Norway. The November 10, 2026, announcement sets out an investigation, not a commitment to build. Work is expected to begin in summer 2027, examining routes between Shetland and Norway, possible landing locations in the Bergen region, delivery partners, and commercial partnerships. It follows a completed feasibility study for a mainland Scotland–Shetland connection, placing the proposed Norwegian extension within a broader plan for northern connectivity.

The resilience argument is particularly important for Shetland, which currently depends on a single cable system. Outages in 2022 and 2025 exposed the absence of an effective alternative. A corridor toward Norway could create another route for communications, rather than leaving traffic dependent on the same connection. VodafoneThree says the proposal could support defense, critical infrastructure, public services, and data centers, alongside broader route diversity. If constructed, the cable would be the first new direct Scotland–Norway subsea link in roughly a quarter century.

Commissioned analysis considers a proposed capacity of up to 420 terabits per second, a measure of how much data the connection could carry. That is a planning assumption, not a finalized system specification. The analysis gives an upper-bound estimate of up to £8.2 billion in economic value over ten years; it is an estimate, not a forecast. A separate £6.6 million per-day protection figure applies only to severe disruption affecting multiple routes when normal rerouting is unavailable. It is an illustrative upper bound, not an estimate of routine daily savings or a guaranteed financial return.

For the cable industry, the study is a potential step toward a new northern route, but the commercial and practical questions remain open. Examining landing options and partnerships will help assess whether the proposed corridor can move beyond feasibility. The next announced milestone is the expected start of that study in summer 2027. VodafoneThree has not announced a supplier, final route, financing package, construction start, or service date. Until those decisions are made, the project remains a proposal under evaluation, rather than a confirmed cable build.

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