C-Lion1 is a submarine communications cable between Finland and Germany. The cable is owned and operated by the Finnish telecommunications and IT services company Cinia Oy.[1] It is the first direct communications cable between Finland and Central Europe; previous connections have been through Sweden and Denmark.

C-Lion1
Owners:
Cinia Oy
Landing points
Total length1,173 kilometres (729 mi)
Design capacity120 Tbit/s
Currently lit capacity144 Tbit/s

The cable operated from May 2016 until November 2024, when it was damaged. Some officials suspect it was an act of sabotage.[2]

The cable is 1,173 kilometers long and has eight fiber pairs with a design capacity of 120 Tbit/s and a maximum capacity of 144 Tbit/s.[3][4][5]

History

edit

Alcatel Submarine Networks commenced the installation of the cable in October 2015, completing the process in January 2016. The cable entered commercial operation in May 2016.

In October 2017, a network switch was installed to the Finnish port city of Hanko.[6]

Fault in 2024

edit

A fault was detected in the cable on 18 November 2024,[7] after which the services provided over the cable went down. According to Cinia Oy, the cable was interrupted was by an unknown outside physical force subsea.[2] The fault was discovered off the coast of the Swedish island of Öland.[8]

German Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the incident an act of sabotage.[7] As of 19 November 2024, the cause of the fault is being investigated.[9][8]

The Lithuanian Naval Force announced increased surveillance of its waters in response to the damage and would discuss further measures with Lithuania its allies.[7]

Landings points

edit

C-Lion1 has landing points in:

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Network projects". www.cinia.fi. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Sabotage suspected after Baltic Sea telecoms cable C-Lion1 suddenly stops working". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  3. ^ Greif, Björn (2016-01-12). "Neues Unterseekabel verbindet Deutschland und Finnland" [New submarine cable connects Germany and Finland]. ZDNet.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  4. ^ Haaramo, Eeva. "Helsinki to Frankfurt in 20 milliseconds: The Baltic cable that's breaking data speed records". ZDNet. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  5. ^ "Submarine Data Cable to Link Germany and Finland". eco. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  6. ^ "Cinia, C-Fiber Hanko team for extension of C-Lion-1 submarine network". www.lightwaveonline.com. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  7. ^ a b c Bryant, Miranda (2024-11-19). "We assume damage to Baltic Sea cables was sabotage, German minister says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  8. ^ a b "Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables". BBC. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  9. ^ "A fault in the Cinia C-Lion1 submarine cable between Finland and Germany". www.cinia.fi. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
edit