What Far North Digital does

Far North Digital, LLC is a privately-held Alaskan telecommunications infrastructure developer focused on the Arctic and Subarctic regions. The company's two core assets are the Far North Fiber system—a proposed 14,000 km submarine fiber optic cable spanning Japan to Europe via the Northwest Passage with 12 fiber pairs, 120 Tbps of low-latency express capacity, and 30 Tbps of local add/drop capacity—and the Prudhoe Bay Data Center, a planned co-location facility with initial 120 MW of power capacity targeting tier 3-4 certification, leveraging ambient Arctic cooling and stranded natural gas for carbon-neutral power at less than 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Target customers are telecommunications carriers and ISPs requiring high-capacity international data transmission, enterprise data center operators seeking energy-efficient co-location, and underserved Arctic communities in Canada and Alaska needing backbone broadband connectivity. The Far North Fiber is being advanced under a December 2021 MoU with Finland-based Cinia and the company's Canadian affiliate True North Global Networks, with Alcatel Submarine Networks serving as lead designer and installer; the value proposition rests on a structurally shorter Arctic route avoiding conventional choke points (Suez, Malacca), energy-efficient operations, and renewable power access.

The company is founder-owned, with five principals (Walt Ebell as CEO, Howard Trott, Ethan Berkowitz, Ik Icard, and Guy Houser) and additional team members Rick Hasselback and Mark Thomas, collectively bringing 100+ years of telecom, submarine cable, legal, and project finance experience. No revenue, funding rounds, or institutional backing are disclosed in available materials; the company website carries a 2021 copyright and primary revenue mechanics (likely long-term IRUs, capacity leases on the cable, and co-location/power charges at the data center) are not publicly disclosed, indicating the company is in project-development and pre-commercial stage.

Name

Far North Digital

Legal name

Far North Digital, LLC

Website

https://fn-digital.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Far North Digital is a privately-held Alaskan infrastructure developer building a 14,000 km pan-Arctic submarine fiber optic cable from Japan to Europe and a planned co-location data center at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, serving telecom carriers, ISPs, and Arctic communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

akta.pro primary industry

Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment) (HDAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subsea Cable Landing Stations & Cable Terminal Stations (CLS/CTS) (HDAIALAB), Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect) (HDAIALAJ)

Keywords

• Submarine fiber optic cables
• Telecommunications infrastructure
• Data center services
• Arctic cable systems
• Subsea cable networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Anchorage

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Far North Digital develops and deploys telecommunications and data storage infrastructure in Arctic and Subarctic regions. Its two primary offerings are the Far North Fiber—a 14,000 km pan-Arctic submarine fiber optic cable system connecting Asia to Europe through the Northwest Passage—and the Prudhoe Bay Data Center, an energy-efficient co-location facility in Alaska leveraging Arctic cooling and stranded natural gas for carbon-neutral power.

Product overview

Far North Digital is a telecommunications infrastructure company offering two primary infrastructure products: the Far North Fiber system (a 14,000 km pan-Arctic submarine fiber optic cable connecting Asia to Europe through the Northwest Passage) and the Prudhoe Bay Data Center (a co-location data center in Alaska leveraging Arctic conditions for energy-efficient operations). These products work together to provide secure, low-latency international data transmission capacity and high-availability data storage facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Far North Fiber Pan-Arctic submarine fiber optic cable system spanning approximately 14,000 km from Japan to Europe via the Northwest Passage, with landings in the United States, Canada, Japan, Norway/Finland, and Ireland. The system features 12 fiber pairs with capacity of up to 120 Tbps express and 30 Tbps local add/drop capacity, providing secure, low-latency international data transmission for telecom carriers, ISPs, and enterprise customers.
• Prudhoe Bay Data Center

Quantifiable outcome

• Less than 4¢/KW power cost at Prudhoe Bay Data Center
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• CiniaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 December 2021Far North Digital and True North Global Networks signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cinia, a Finnish networks, cybersecurity and software solutions provider, to jointly construct a submarine fibre optic cable system linking Europe and Asia through the Arctic (Far North Fiber project)
• True North Global NetworkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 December 2021True North Global Networks LP, a Canadian affiliate of Far North Digital, is committed to engagement with Indigenous organizations and local governments to develop branch landings in Arctic Canada, providing robust connectivity to Canadian Arctic communities
• Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)coreTechnology or IntegrationAlcatel Submarine Networks will take the lead on project design and installation for the Far North Fiber submarine cable system

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Verne Global: Iceland-based data center operator whose entire value proposition is built on cold-climate free cooling and renewable Icelandic power. Closest direct peer for the energy-efficient data center half of Far North Digital's business.
• Aqua Comms: Operator of dedicated transatlantic subsea cables including AEC-1, AEC-2 and CeltixConnect. Closely comparable business model: sells dedicated wholesale capacity on privately-owned subsea systems to global carriers, hyperscalers and financial customers.
• Quintillion Networks: Alaska-based subsea cable operator that built and operates the Quintillion Subsea Cable System serving Prudhoe Bay and the Alaska Arctic. Operates in the same geography, serving the same Alaskan/Arctic customer base, and is the closest peer for both the cable and the Prudhoe Bay data center concept.
• Crosslake Fibre: Developer and operator of transatlantic and regional subsea fiber systems including CLSR Toronto–New York. Comparable niche-scale, project-financed subsea cable developer targeting enterprise and carrier customers.
• Bulk Fiber Networks: Norwegian fiber and data center operator that co-owns the Havfrue/AEC-2 transatlantic cable and operates Nordic data centers. Comparable end-to-end model combining subsea cable ownership with cold-climate data center infrastructure, similar to Far North Digital's cable-plus-Prudhoe Bay strategy.
• Cinia: Finnish state-linked networks, cybersecurity and software company that operates the C-Lion1 Finland–Germany subsea cable and signed an MoU with Far North Digital to jointly construct the Far North Fiber Arctic system. Most direct strategic comparable as a co-developer of a pan-Arctic cable route.
• Green Mountain: Norwegian colocation and data center operator leveraging cold Norwegian climate and hydroelectric power. Direct comparable to the Prudhoe Bay Data Center's cold-climate, renewable-powered positioning.
• Farice: Icelandic operator of the FARICE-1 and DANICE subsea cables connecting Iceland to Europe and North America. Comparable sub-North-American, northern-latitude subsea cable operator with a similar small-scale infrastructure ownership profile.
• Hibernia Networks (GTT Communications): Acquired by GTT in 2017, Hibernia operates the Hibernia Express transatlantic low-latency cable. Closest comparable for a low-latency-focused transatlantic cable business model serving financial and carrier customers.

Others

• Alcatel Submarine Networks (Nokia): Nokia-owned global leader in subsea cable design, manufacturing and installation, signed as lead installer for Far North Fiber. Comparable not as a competitor but as the enabling technology vendor whose marine installation capability determines project economics and feasibility.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Far North Digital