Study for the Subsea Cable System connecting Portugal, Ireland and Spain (PISCES Cable System)

Locations	Ireland – Galway France – Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez Portugal – Carcavelos Spain – Sopelana
Cable length	2,800 km (planned)
Project start - end date (duration)	1 January 2023 – 31 March 2025 (27 months)

What will it provide?

This project is a study to prepare the ground for a strategic link running from the West Coast of Ireland directly to Portugal, with branch connectivity to France and Spain. The future cable, which would be based on the study, should link the new transatlantic and other international cable systemslanding in Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal, and will allow for capacity interconnection on these systems. This will directly enhance the quality of connectivity within the European Union as well as with third countries.

By providing direct, high capacity, open access, scalable dark fibre availability from Ireland directly to Portugal, France and Spain, the PISCES system will:

• Enable direct cable connection between Ireland and mainland Europe;
• Strengthen both connectivity capacity and commercial offers of connectivity between Ireland and the rest of the EU;
• Enhance Portugal’s connectivity to Northern Europe by providing a unique fibre path along the Western Atlantic Seaboard, a pathway to Europe avoiding the transit through Spain;
• Address a lack of diverse terrestrial trunk networks in Europe linking key hubs in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and France by providing a diverse route along the western Atlantic seaboard of the EU.

This survey is implemented in collaboration with the CEF funding desktop survey WECF and precedes the implementation project PISCES 2, that is funded under Call 2.

How will it work?

The study and preparatory activities to make the PISCES system ready for installation include:

• Feasibility studies, including landfall feasibility studies;
• Completion of the overall system desktop study;
• Definition of the marine survey route corridor;
• Marine survey permitting and marine survey in the Irish, Portuguese, French and Spanish jurisdictions;
• Marine survey procurement;
• Main lay permitting studies and applications;
• Permit applications and associated studies for installation of the cable in the Irish, Portuguese, French and Spanish jurisdictions.

Assessments for the inclusion of SMART capabilities are also planned.

How is it financed?

The studies for the PISCES system project have a total budget of €8 million, of which €4 million funded under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital programme.

Who is involved?

The PISCES System project involves McMahon Design and Management Limited, as coordinator, and Deep Sea Fibre Networks Limited as partner.