Pioneer Consulting Advises Crown Estate Scotland on Subsea Telecommunications to Better Position Scotland on the International Connectivity Landscape

Pioneer Consulting delivers comprehensive analysis of Scotland's subsea telecommunications infrastructure, challenges, and growth opportunities


BOSTON and EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pioneer Consulting, the full-service submarine fiber optic telecommunications consulting and project management company, announces it has recently completed a Subsea Telecommunications Cables Market Analysis commissioned by Crown Estate Scotland. This work offers unique multi-disciplinary data and insight into the state of Scotland’s subsea communications industry landscape with respect to the North Atlantic and European international connectivity markets.

Pioneer Consulting was contracted by Crown Estate Scotland to deliver a comprehensive analysis of Scotland's subsea telecommunications infrastructure and potential market future. The international consulting company analyzed the key challenges the country faces in this sector, including comparatively high frequency of subsea cable repairs. Other factors considered by Pioneer Consulting included physical constraints on cable routing such as fishing grounds, anchors, ship and aircraft wrecks, unexploded ordnance, other cables, and pipelines. The analysis also included the current process of obtaining a marine license for a subsea telecommunications cable in Scottish waters.

Despite various challenges, Scotland’s marine resources are full of opportunity. Pioneer Consulting explored multiple steps Scotland could take to leverage its geographical location between North America and Scandinavia, where there has been high growth in data centers, and encourage growth in the number of regional and transatlantic subsea cable system landings. These recommendations include assessment of landing fees, streamlining permitting, surveying potential landing points near Scotland’s Central Belt, making data about Scotland’s seabed publicly accessible, attracting hyperscale data centers, and mitigating risk by reaching out to local fishing communities to help them avoid existing subsea cable sites.

“We are honored to have worked with Crown Estate Scotland on this timely, critical research,” said Iain Ritson, Project Manager and Director of Client Solutions at Pioneer Consulting. “We identified immense areas of opportunity for Scotland to grow its role in trans-Atlantic subsea telecommunications, and look forward to witnessing this growth in the coming years.” 

Sian Wilson, Senior Energy & Infrastructure Manager at Crown Estate Scotland, said: “This is an extremely important piece of work, which will help inform decisions made by Crown Estate Scotland and other bodies, as we work together to ensure that we are making the most of our potential of hosting major telecommunications projects which are not only important for development of broader sectors, but which will also have the potential to support the sustainable growth of the blue economy.”

The completion of this major assignment comes at a time when Pioneer Consulting recently announced its successful oversight of a marine route survey for the first fiber optic cable crossing the English Channel in 20 years, the CrossChannel Fibre Project. Last month, Pioneer Consulting also announced its hiring of Scotland-based Dr. Lorraine Gray as Director of Permitting.

Pioneer Consulting’s work for Crown Estate Scotland is the last in a series of recent assignments to help governmental or regional agencies to identify and quantify the potential benefits of enhanced international connectivity. Pioneer Consulting has assisted these agencies in understanding the specifics of investing in subsea cable systems and has analyzed how governments or regions can facilitate such strategically important investments in the design, financing, construction, and operations phases.

About Pioneer Consulting
Pioneer Consulting offers a comprehensive set of services for the submarine fiber optic telecommunications system industry. The company provides clients with valuable technical and commercial insight into the challenging issues facing this unique industry. Recognizing the diverse nature of the submarine telecommunications marketplace, Pioneer Consulting has built a team of industry-leading experts who are able to work across traditional boundaries and provide businesses with the strategic intelligence and operational skills needed to make long-term engineering and business decisions and deliver results. To learn more about the services Pioneer Consulting offers, please visit: https://www.pioneerconsulting.com/

Media Contact:
Ariane Mandell
Trevi Communications
ariane@trevicomm.com