VodafoneThree to study Scotland-Shetland-Norway subsea cable route

VodafoneThree is to study the feasibility of a UK-Norway digital corridor, with a high-speed subsea cable running from mainland Scotland to Shetland and on to Norway.

The operator, which has a digital hub in MediaCityUK, became the UK’s largest mobile network after its 2025 merger.

According to research by consultancy WPI Strategy, commissioned by Vodafone Business, the route could generate economic value of up to £8.2 billion over the next ten years.

Resilience and security

The corridor could make the UK’s digital infrastructure more secure and resilient and add capacity, with benefits for defence, essential services and critical national infrastructure.

Analysis commissioned by VodafoneThree estimates that the route could safeguard up to £6.6 million a day of UK economic activity during severe disruption that hits several existing routes at once and where traffic cannot be rerouted.

An alternative northern route would add geographic diversity at a time when the government identifies coordinated disruption of critical undersea infrastructure as a national security risk that is growing.

The study, expected to begin in summer 2027, will examine the Scotland-Shetland-Norway route and look at how improved international connectivity could benefit businesses, defence, public services, data centres and critical national infrastructure.

Subject to the study’s findings, the link could make northern Scotland and Shetland more attractive for data centre investment, with wider benefits through construction, skilled jobs, local supply chains and new commercial opportunities.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting MP said: “Protecting our network of undersea cables is vital to keeping our country safe. Our adversaries are increasingly targeting our critical national infrastructure, including the cables that carry data and enable internet traffic and financial transactions.”

“This is a very welcome step that could not only improve connectivity and boost our economy, especially in Scotland, but strengthen the UK’s national resilience, prevent disruption, and keep us all safe,” he said.

Nick Gliddon, business director at VodafoneThree, said: “Reliable international connectivity is vital to the UK’s defence, strengthening our resilience to disruption and enhancing the security of the critical infrastructure on which our economy and public services depend. Norway is a strategically important partner, with a shared commitment to protecting infrastructure across the North Atlantic.”

He added: “A new digital corridor would strengthen the physical links between our countries, add vital route diversity and support secure, resilient connectivity for critical infrastructure on both sides of the North Sea. It could also unlock investment in data centres and AI, creating skilled jobs and wider economic opportunities. This study will help establish the economic and strategic case for the route and identify the partnerships needed to deliver it.”

Shetland and Norway

VodafoneThree has already completed a feasibility study on a high-speed subsea cable between Shetland and mainland Scotland.

Shetland currently relies on a single cable system, and outages in 2022 and 2025 showed there was no effective fallback when it fails, so a separate route could add resilience.

Subsea cables handle 98% of international data traffic, and damage or disruption can hit businesses, public services and other organisations that rely on constant access to digital services.

The study comes as the UK and Norway deepen their cooperation across defence, security, energy and critical infrastructure. A strategic partnership agreed by the two countries in December 2024 covers energy and the green transition as well as defence and security, and includes closer work to protect subsea and offshore infrastructure in the North Atlantic.

Norway is emerging as a major destination for AI data centre investment, helped by plentiful hydropower and a cooler climate that can cut cooling energy.

A direct link to Scotland would add route diversity, make Norway’s digital infrastructure more resilient and create capacity for its growing AI economy. It would be the first new direct subsea link between the two countries in around a quarter of a century.