Welcome to Issue 83, our Regional Systems edition.
I secreted myself to the beach for the first week and a half of this year’s Tour de France.
I had originally planned to stay for an additional week, but that job thing interceded like a sprinter busting over the finish line, and so I headed back north alone with my chocolate lab for unexpected meetings. It’s not like I don’t already work while I am beaching; in fact, my second home has come to resemble many of the attributes of my office, including raging fast bandwidth.
This year’s Tour has really become a triumph of the spirit. Contenders, who just a year ago were knocked out by unfortunate accidents or just plain bad luck, are now on the leader board. And last year’s winner is struggling to remain within
striking distance of the maillot jaune. Coming into the last week it will no doubt be a memorable finish for the peloton.
Early on in the race I received an email from an old friend, Jean Devos, who knows that though I am typically indifferent about most sports, the exception by far is this annual grueling event. He mentioned that the “Tour is a big cultural fact here, something which comes from our roots, our history, our geography.” He went on to describe how he has been tempted to write a paper, which consid ers the Tour as
an analogy for our submarine cable activity.
I, too, agree with that notion. Looking at a number of systems that have languished over the years only to bust out in recent months adds an exciting dynamic to our industry.
One day I will follow le Tour
in its entirety in person… One day. In the meantime, I think he should write that paper.
Vive le Tour.
Wayne Nielsen is the Founder and Publisher of Submarine Telecoms Forum, and previously in 1991, founded and published “Soundings”, a print magazine developed for then BT Marine. In 1998, he founded and published for SAIC the magazine, “Real Time”, the industry’s first electronic magazine. He has written a number of industry papers and articles over the years, and is the author of two published novels, Semblance of Balance (2002, 2014) and Snake Dancer’s Song (2004).
+1.703.444.2527
wnielsen@subtelforum.com
In This Issue...
Stewart
Kristian
AAG Submarine Cable Repaired
Now
AAG Submarine Cable To Cease
Activity For 10 Days
AAG submarine Internet Cable Ruptures Again
Bangladesh Submarine Cable Gets
ISP License
BSNL Joins Up With Bangladeshi Firm To Improve Net In Northeast
CNMI Disconnected: Cut Cable Shuts Down Phones, Banking
Alcatel-Lucent Achieves Distance Record For Undersea Data Transmission
Alcatel-Lucent And Apollo Achieve New Transmission Record For Capacity Upgrade
The “Voice Of The Undersea Community” Resonates In Hong Kong At The 2015 ICPC Plenary
Weekly Wrap-Up June 8-12
Weekly Wrap-Up May 18-22
TR Calls For Faster Senate Action On Submarine Cable Bill
Undersea Cable To Be Sourced From Sydney
WACS Submarine Cable To Go Operational In Cameroon On July 1
Xtera Upgrades The Hugo Subsea Cable System With Its Next Generation Repeater
Regional Systems
An Overview
Kieran Clark
Welcome to SubTel Forum’s annual Regional Systems issue. This month, we’ll take a brief look at system progress around the world, and talk a little bit about some of the challenges the submarine telecoms industry faces. The data used in this article is obtained from the public domain and is tracked by the ever evolving SubTel Forum database, where
products like the Almanac, Cable Map, and the STF Supplement find their roots.
At the time of our last Regional Systems edition, twenty systems were set to be ready for service in 2015, eleven systems in 2016, and one system in 2017. One year later, those numbers have changed to nineteen systems in 2015, and twenty-three systems in 2016, with 2017 seeing a slight bump to five systems. Based on the information, our observation is that while 2015 has seen a very small decrease in systems, the next two years should see a surge in activity. Overall, there has been an almost forty-seven percent increase in systems under development since our last edition.
Of the systems scheduled to be ready for service in
Systems Announced RFS
2015, only one has been put into service. Three systems have started their marine surveys, another four have started system manufacture, and two other systems due to be ready for service this year have begun installation. The remaining nine systems remain in the pre-engineering phase. Looking to 2016, only two systems have started their marine survey, one system has started the
manufacturing process, and the remaining twenty systems are still in the preengineering phase.
Naturally, with an increase in the number of systems under development, we can expect an increase in the total kilometers of cable being added. While 2015 saw a decrease of nearly 50,000 kilometers of planned cable from this time last year, the next two years have seen tremendous growth. Our data compared to last year
Announced
shows 2016 increasing from 76,000 kilometers of cable to 162,000, while 2017 will go from 6,250 kilometers, to just over 50,000. This is a pretty drastic change from last year, and potentially indicates that the submarine fiber industry is on the rise in a big way.
Most of this rapid growth is driven by demand in the Pacific. With emerging markets in the South Pacific continuing to hunger for more bandwidth, expect
activity in the region to remain high. When paired with a continuing desire for Trans-Pacific route diversity, these factors have resulted in more than half of all new systems to be planned for the Pacific region over the next couple years. The bulk of the remaining planned activity is centered on the Atlantic, stemming from a desire to connect with emerging markets in South America and Western Africa.
Additionally, several new planned systems have popped up in the North Atlantic, with the intent of replacing aging cables along the Trans-Atlantic route.
Since our last look at Regional Systems, nearly every region in the world has maintained or seen a slight increase in activity levels, with the Indian Ocean and Middle East regions being the exceptions. The Atlantic and Pacific regions grew the most, seeing a 4 and 5 system
Systems Announced RFS 2015-2017
By Region
the industry has improved overall.
increase respectively, compared to one year ago. With the Middle East region continuing to be unstable politically and economically, it’s no surprise prospective system owners are looking elsewhere. With the Indian Ocean region being so closely tied to the Middle East, continue to expect low activity in these areas as well.
While all of this data seems very promising, a healthy dose of reality is administered when looking at the percentage of systems that are Contract In Force, or CIF. There are 46 systems planned globally for the next few years and only 24% have achieved this milestone. This is the
first real determination of whether or not a system will ever see the light of day, and so expectations must be adjusted when a low CIF rate is observed. With this year being more than half over and our data showing only 44% of planned systems for 2015 being CIF, there is additional cause for concern. However, CIF rates are still up compared to this time last year so
What remains to be seen in the coming months is the effect that the economic uncertainty in the Eurozone and China’s sphere of influence will have on the submarine fiber industry. Many of the new cables planned in those regions could very well be directly affected if matters continue
PERCENT OF SYSTEMS CIF 2015-2017
to worsen. The good news is that there are already signs of progress and recovery, so as long as the current turmoil does not last for an extended period of time, the impact on planned submarine fiber systems should be minimal.
Kieran Clark is an Analyst for Submarine Telecoms Forum. He joined the company in 2013 as a Broadcast Technician to provide support for live event video streaming. In 2014, Kieran was promoted
Forum publications. He has 4+ years of live production experience and has worked alongside some of the premier organizations in video web streaming. to Analyst and is currently responsible for the research and maintenance that supports the SubTel Forum International Submarine Cable Database; his analysis is featured in almost the entire array of SubTel
This time last year, the increasing popularity of upgrades, potential oversaturation of existing regions and routes, and a high amount of investor caution all came together to slow the submarine fiber industry down. One year later, many of these concerns have either been eliminated, or at least reduced. This has allowed the industry to hit its stride once again, with the potential to push ahead bigger and better than ever before. With new technologies on the horizon, and new areas always looking to connect to the global telecommunications network, the future of this industry is looking bright.
From shore to shore . . .
Coherent Transport
High Signal Power
Outstanding Bend Performance
Simplified Network Design
Long-term Reliability
My Spring Vacation
Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Cable
Kristian Nielsen
As many of you know, Sub Tel Forum is published by WFN Strategies, one of a handful of engineering consultancies in the submarine cable world. This past May, I – your humble magazine purveyor – was given the rare opportunity to do a sort of “ride along” during the installation of the new BLAST system linking the islands of American Samoa, during which, I was able to get a first-hand experience that sitting at a desk pouring over datasheets could never hope to match.
As a member of the younger, rising generation of submarine cable enthusiasts, when I was asked if I could clear my May schedule to take part in the two week installation process, I was thrilled. Something like this –especially in such a beautiful part of the world – is normally out of reach for someone in my position. As a media outlet, we routinely report on conferences, gather data and produce analysis, but rarely do we get the opportunity to get our hands actually dirty in the real nuts and bolts of this industry.
Getting There
Transit to the island nation from our east coast bastion is relatively simple: a hop from
Dulles over to Honolulu, a flight path I’m well acquainted with after a decade attending PTC, followed by an afternoon with my toes in the sand and a night in the bustling tourist spot.
I can confidently say to you that I was nervous. I had never really done field-work like this before, nor traveled as far into the pacific. Having the night to work off my jetlag at my favorite Mai Tai Bar in my favorite hotel did wonders for my mindset!
The next morning, I hooked up with the team that I would be supporting during the trip: Richard Hoffman, whose name and expertise I’ve heard about since my childhood; his son and fellow young-gun Matt Hoffman; and marine biologist extraordinaire Russ Burdge.
Richard and I would ride with the crew on IT’s CS Intrepid -the former CS Sir Eric Sharpe –acting as representative of the owners of the system, while Matt and Russ would bounce around on the dive boat performing the environmental monitoring.
With time to kill before our afternoon flight to Pago Pago, we cruised the town, enjoyed the beach and then finally made our way over the airport. As flights go, I had expected this
one to be crowded – with only two flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago every week it was to be expected.
We took off, we flew and we landed. As an old friend once said, “the only thing a flight needs to be successful is a soft landing.” Sage words, as the landing was the softest thing on the flight.
The four of us reconnected on the other side of customs – a stamp and a smile from the very appreciative customs agent that seemed enthralled with the influx of cable ship crew on the flight, all there to make their own internet speeds better. It
seemed that we were anxiously expected.
That was the first, and certainly not the last time that a stranger thanked the crew and us for being there to perform this much-needed work. A Sadie’s by the Sea shuttle took us to our home for the night and, a welcome night’s sleep later, Richard and I boarded the CS Intrepid.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 Day One
We were able to board at noon, giving us three hours to get settled in and take the necessary tours of the ship
before the Captain’s kick-off meeting. We were given what Richard described as “the most exhaustive and useful” safety indoctrination that he’s ever had. Coming from Richard, whose career is best explained with terms like “veteran” and “overly qualified”, that is high praise and also not the last of many such comments about the Intrepid’s crew.
Before the kick-off meeting, I had a chance to talk with the Chief Officer, JD, who had heard that I was an Eagle Scout. He wanted to share some pictures of the local scout troop that visited the ship earlier. As an avid scouter, I love stuff like this. I grew up with similar opportunities, running around the docks in Southampton. Having kids – scouts or otherwise – get exposure to real life changes in their communities is an incredible experience, one that I know these young scouts will carry with them into adulthood. Everywhere I go, I’m reminded of the incredible community of scouters around the world, where I spent a slice of my childhood in England and on this Canadian ship where, even here in remote American Samoa, there are scouts.
The kick-off meeting went well: the team was introduced all
around and the general plan was discussed. Unsurprisingly, the weather is everyone’s biggest concern – the wet season was supposedly finished, but surf conditions can be completely different depending on which island you’re on. It was agreed on that each day’s progress would be dictated by the dive captain and his assessment of the daily conditions. The last thing anyone wants to do is prove the wry adage “crack open a new box of divers” true. Safety will come first on this installation.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 Day Two
We disembarked at 0900 (9 a.m.) sharp. After catching breakfast, the ship performed an early fire drill, with instructions on how to perform the duties for each station. I was tasked with assisting, as needed – the default position for anyone without daily duties on the ship. The Intrepid seems busy, with ship hands bustling about below deck, but everything was still very quiet.
Saddling up next to the first shore end, the ship and her crew got into position.
After a few hours of debate over the surf conditions and safety, a plan of attack was agreed on: the
dive boat would fire a rocket propelled line to the shore team, who would then use that to ferry the messenger line back to the ship. With the configuration of the coral, and the worsening surf conditions, using the small zodiac to hand off the messenger to the shore team was impossible.
Rocket fired and messenger line in place, the center castle crew began the slow, deliberate process of floating the cable to the shore end. I was blown away at the seamless effort of the Intrepid’s crew: tying buoys to the cable and placing numbered markers on the cable as it inched its way out of the cable engine.
After a few short hours, the cable was fully in place and the dive team cut the buoys and sent it to the bottom. It was not a moment
too soon as the surf was in full swing at this point. With the cable resting comfortably on the ocean floor, the Captain began our installation by heading off into the first segment of BLAST.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Day Three
After laying cable all night, we came to the second shore end where the barge, the Working Girl II, was loaded with 515 meters of cable that it then laid directly into the shore end. By the morning, the barge was being dropped down into the water, the cable was already coiled on the deck in the Center Castle and the crew was waiting for the go ahead to begin.
Once the barge was offloaded completely, the cable was handpulled into a series of rollerhooks that supported it around the starboard of the ship, where it was loaded onto the barge. After hand carrying and walking the bight, or last loop, off of the stern of the ship, the barge scooted off and laid the remainder of the segment.
The concept of walking the bight off of the ship was tricky for me, I had a hard time understanding the exact process. Seeing is believing, as they say, but in this case, seeing is understanding. We had laid the first shore end the day before, laid more cable all night and then did this shore end. But to do that, the cable was secured in the center castle, coiled onto the barge and then the bight was released from its mooring and dropped off the stern of the ship. With the barge laying the last of the cable onto the shore, the single segment was completely on the floor now. It’s a simple concept, but seems incredibly hard to grasp unless you actually see it done.
The afternoon’s install was identical to the first day’s; the team attached floats to the cable every 10 meters or so, while also
marking every 10m with marker tape for the environmental survey later.
To assist in the alignment of the cable, the FRC – the zodiac mentioned earlier – placed a buoy to mark the route and then aided in pulling the cable over into position while the floats were cut. The surf was impressive near the shore, so the shore end team walked out and cut the nearest floats themselves, allowing the divers to cut the remaining floats. Like the first landing, it was time to shove off and lay cable over to the next shore end.
Friday, May 15, 2015 Day Four
Today was a slower day. It started out with a barge landing like the one yesterday – only this time
the captain himself was piloting it. The barge was loaded and landed well before 11 a.m. The crew’s deliberate, unfaltering pace drove the cable in without delays or disruptions. Richard told me once that “boring” is a great day during an installation. I realized that it’s not so much that “boring is good,” but rather, like all great endeavors, things move along with the speed and determination of a glacier. There are many, many components working in and around the endeavor. Momentum wants the undertaking to continue moving forward. But, when things are less than “boring,” or maybe even into the realm of “interesting,” the many moving parts could be disrupted. Today, I found that “boring” was just fine with me.
I spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork and reading – with a dash of playing a little Doom II here and there…
Saturday, May 16, 2015 Day 5
“Boring” continued into the morning. A routine was in place for the seemingly ever-occupied crewmembers: polishing, grinding, lubing and degreasing. I learned that there was never a shortage of jobs on the ship.
The time came for the next shore end to be accomplished. Because of the depth of this landing, we used the barge to get in close again. The barge was loaded up with a little over 300m of cable to take in to the next shore-end and then we’d be underway – laying segment
3 all night on our approach to
the branching unit location. The landing went off without a hitch – the Chief Officer piloted the barge right on target. The barge was there and back within an hour, all while the crew below was preparing for the long night laying our way out to where the BU will be dropped.
With the landing complete, our Environmental Team hopped in the water for a post lay video survey – as has been the practice so far. Only this time, they would be joining us on the Intrepid for the remainder of the installation as, it would seem, travel between the islands is difficult and the Captain opted to have them onboard in the interest of saving time.
With the whole gang on board now, we set off on Segment 3 –the longest lay of the project.
Sunday, May 17, 2015 Day 6
Today was reasonably easy – “boring” even. The nightlong steam out to the final placement of the branching unit was uneventful, followed by a seemingly endless procedure that laid the cable on the seabed,
a heavy-duty buoy on the surface marking the unit.
When we came into position, the cable was still trailing behind us in the water column. The catenary had to be collapsed and the cable laid on the sea floor, which means affixing heavy duty lines to the cable
and paying out enough to attach a buoy to on the surface. With the floor sitting near to 4,000 meters deep, a truly staggering amount of “ultraline” and “uniline” was paid out to act as a bookmark for our installation progress. The process took the lion’s share of the day, cappingoff just around sunset with a resounding “KABOOSH” as the buoy and associated tag lines splashed into the quickly darkening waters, armed only with a single strobe light to fight off the night.
I later learned that we would stay the night with the buoy, to ward off any possible interference from any passing merchant vessels that might not see the small buoy and cause it some harm.
Monday, May 18, 2015 Day 7
To maximize the available – and largely unknown – conditions at the next landing site, the Intrepid made an early morning departure from our guardian position around the buoy and had us staring down the landing site at first light.
First impressions were not positive. The landing site was rough, to say the least.
The site was nestled next to a sea wall, which was protecting a small port from some remarkably energetic surf activity, seemed to run the entire length of the beach and then some. To complicate matters further, the beach master and his team need two things before we could even think about starting today: transportation from the ship to the beach and for the barge to ferry 14 crates of articulated pipe to the landing station. We’d been carrying crates of the stuff for this purpose. However, the harbor is on the opposite of a point shared by the landing station and we’d have to steam back and forth to drop off and then recollect the team. Thankfully, the process wasn’t as long as I had been expecting, as so many things have proven on this trip – we were steaming our way back over to the landing station and on site before noon.
So far, every landing station has posed a simple question:
“How can I best get a single guide line between the ship and the shore?” This landing station posed a similar question. However, it came with caveats galore – things like “in eight foot surf” and “near to hullpuncturing rocks” and “in a mighty current”. This landing has offered the most difficult conditions so far.
Hoping to make similar use of an earlier landing idea, the shore team took two rocket propelled rope launchers with them to send out to the RFC, which they would, in turn, carry back to the ship to attach to the guide line for the cable.
I asked Richard, “Why not just fire the line from the RFC,” like the dive boat did on the very first shore end – he told me that there were power lines directly behind the team.
Just tucked behind the trees, there they were: a simple arrangement of power lines –
making our jobs that much more “interesting”. The shore team fired the first shot: a high arcing shot that, without a 20 mph wind, would have landed nicely. However, in these conditions the rocket stalled near the apex of its flight and fell limply into the raucous surf. The RFC team didn’t even flinch at the attempt – the line was irretrievable.
A second rocket was sent off. This time a lower, more controlled launch, the line made it successfully past the surf and the RFC was able to collect it. Getting the line to the ship would prove far, far more difficult in the stiff current. The RFC seemed to heave and post against the added weight of the coiled line – the end of which was still attached to the shore.
As the RFC raged against the
current – trying to get the line to the bow of the ship – the line itself must have become entangled in the rocks near the protected harbor. As things under tension tend to do when applied to a sharp surface, the line separated and we were left empty handed for our troubles today. By this time, the workday was done with and any new attempts at the shore end would have to wait until the next morning. Hopefully, the weather, while not expected to, will subside a bit and let us work and get back to our lonely buoy.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 Day 8
The early morning was greeted by an equally early start to the day. The RFC had ferried the shore end team and the single remaining rope launcher to the
landing site before the sun had even fully risen. With yesterday’s setbacks, the Captain laid out an aggressive plan for the day – one that made the most of the early morning calm in the high tide –“calm,” of course, is completely relative.
The proposed procedure was simple enough. The shore team would fire a rocket propelled rope line towards the RFC, which would in turn collect that line and carry it back to the ship. The cable crew would use the rocket-line – a much sturdier poly line – as a lead for the messenger-line for the cable. The shore team would use a laden truck to pull the messenger line, and then cable, right onto shore. The plan was simple, but with waves like a surfer’s dream breaking 100 yards offshore,
even simple plans take careful calculation and preparation and we only had one last rope launcher, having used the other three.
The morning was wrapped in a misty rain cloud. In combination with the thunderous surf, it gave an ethereal quality to the whole morning. We all watched from the ship. We watched the FRC carve lazy arcs in the sea; we watched the shore team standing ready, rope launcher aimed into the wind; we waited for the signal. With no crew near our observation perch, our only notice to leap into action was the FRC making a hasty turn and dash towards shore. At the sight of the FRC’s turn, a rocket cut a smoky grey trail into the sky, carrying the only chance of laying this landing
station with it. Only this time it was aimed low and into the wind, defying the incoming storm in its trajectory. Instead of getting lost in the wave, or tied up on the rocks, this line made it. The FRC was able to collect the floating line, coil it and carry it carefully to the ship – where the crew was eagerly waiting to tie the messenger line on.
From there on, this was a textbook landing operation. The cable was successfully floated to the shore team. The floats were cut without incident and the post-lay environmental survey was accomplished without snag. The entire operation hinged on the 200-or-so yard surf-zone that denied our RFC access to the shore. After that had been defeated, there was nothing to slow the operation down. With
the cable paid out and floats collected, the FRC shuttled the last of the shore crew back to the ship where we had dinner and made preparations to head back to our lonely buoy – now a day in the water longer than planned. Hopefully, the buoy is in place and without incident –the cable will be easier to collect if our place marker is still intact.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Day 9
With the shore end successfully and finally completed, the cable lay back to the BU took most of the night. Laying cable is down time – time to catch up on reports, or maybe some reading. It requires very little oversight, save for the occasional trip down to the testing room in the center castle to get the ever present thumbs-up that the
cable is testing within normal parameters.
Laying cable is a long and careful process – one not to be rushed by anything other than the planned work schedule. That said, when your job is to monitor and observe cable laying operations, it leaves a rather large hole in your schedule. Thankfully, most of the long lays have been planned for overnight work, leaving the day team to handle the shore ends, or jointing, or whatever else the day might bring.
Every couple of days I’ve been reminded that this is actually a 24-hour operation – that there’s a whole half of the crew that I haven’t seen so far. This morning was one of those days, after breakfast, I went to check on the ship’s progress on approach to the BU location,
only to find Richard grab me on my way out and tell me that he got some great video of the crew recovering the buoy in the early hours before the sun came up. I was pretty disappointed – I wanted to see the recovery in person. Alas, this really is a 24-hour operation and the body does need sleep.
With the buoy safely recovered, the long and tedious process of winding the tag line and raising the end of segment 3 off of the seabed began. If this experience has taught me anything, it is that this industry has no movements wasted; while the tag line was being brought up, the cable that we were laying was paid out, collapsing the catenary and bringing it even to where the BU will join the three disparate cables together.
“Tedious” is an excellent word to describe almost every process on a cable ship, from aligning the linear cable engine, to jointing, or cutting the armor away from the end slated for a landing –even the simple act of counting the spare cable in reserve. With millions of dollars at stake and other projects looming, every cut, every count, every joint must be perfect. I was told that jointing will take 36 hours from when the recently retrieved cable end is prepped. I’m also told that the trunk has already been spliced in, meaning that there will only be two joints to perform – hopefully cutting the overall time down by a third, fingers crossed.
The jointing team completed the first joint before switching off to the nocturnal team, who took
over to complete the last joint before we lower the whole BU to the sea floor.
Thursday, May 21, 2015 Day 10
Come morning, the jointing team had completed their work – the BU was now ready to be carried to the bow of the ship, offloaded and gently dropped to the floor. The process took most of the day, with all hands on the deck to ensure the best chances of success during the transition.
Watching the crew move the BU was amazing – a slow moving waltz with three ends of cable and a giant metal cylinder at the center. When moving something like this, anything can happen, so the crew take no chances nor do they try and rush. Using a moving hoist, they tied webbing
around the BU and slowly shift it from the center castle to the forward cable drum, where it will be hoisted up and over the bow. The process has been made even more “interesting” by the relentless driving rain, a almost constant factor the last two days.
Taking every precaution, the BU is eventually lowered over the
bow. When the BU was finally and securely on the bottom, we began laying the fifth and final leg of the system.
Friday, May 22, 2015 Day 11
After laying all night, we reached the last landing before the morning sun had risen.
There was a buzz in the ship this morning, the entire crew was ready to complete the last shore end and get back to port. Again, the day was drenched in the ever-present drizzle of rain – only today a gorgeous crosswind accompanied it.
Weather aside, the surf conditions were perfect for our purposes and the shore end was a straight shot – a mere couple hundred yards from the bow of the ship. Instead of winding the cable off of the ship – as per our regular activity so far – the crew coiled the cable on the deck. With the other end of the cable hanging off of the bow, the crew carefully measured the length that would be needed to reach the shore end and then cut and sealed the cable. To my surprise, the deck crew began
hand carrying the cable off the ship – tying buoys on as the cable moves along.
This landing was by far the fastest. Once the cable was landed, the divers cut the buoys heading towards the beach in order to lay the cable flat on the seabed, avoiding any loops which could become kinks. Just like a garden hose, the cable has memory. It wants to coil itself.
Cutting the buoys near the beach allows the cable to fall in, cutting out any accidental slack that might occur.
Cable landed, shore end secured and testing accomplished, this system has been roughed out and is ready for commissioning.
To celebrate another successful project completion, the mess hall staff pulled out all the stops:
a large charcoal grill was set up in the center castle with a host of meats and local salads. For the first time in two weeks, I watched the crew let their metaphorical hair down. The cable crew took to the karaoke machine, the officers told stories and everyone shared bawdy jokes. It was one hell of a good time.
Getting Home
With the party quietly droning on into the night, people started slipping away to bed. The job was done, but tomorrow morning would welcome early offloading of the cable spares – a job that would require an acute attention to the cable count as it’s wound into storage containers in the port.
When we arrived at the port, our job was done. The cable was landed, we had represented the owner’s interests and now we were back. It was time to collect our passports and check back in to the familiar Sadie’s by the Sea.
With our flight scheduled for Monday night, we had two days to enjoy the town, buy whatever baubles we wanted to bring home to our families and soak up that last bit of the glorious Pacific sun.
Looking Back
Even now, months later, I look back on my time with the crew of the Intrepid. In a little less than two weeks I learned more than I did in the first year I was working in this industry. There’s nothing like hands on training.
But I learned more than just practical cable know-how – I got to know a side of the industry that’s rarely talked about these days. I grew up with stories of grand white linen dinners on cable ships, of tours by captains with gold piping on their shoulders. I was reminded of the “good ol’ days” during my time with the extraordinary crew of the CS Intrepid.
When I first walked on the ship, I was very forward about my experience with shipboard cable work – none – and my intentions to use this as a learning opportunity. It was my hope to sit quietly to the side with my camera and record the installation. Not only was I welcomed in to the fold, but I was told to ask as many questions as possible. Every single person – from the ship’s new Purserin-training to the linear cable engine operator – was not only cooperative, but also eager to talk about their specific duties with me.
Regrettably, the editor has constrained me to a word count, within such I couldn’t possibly detail everything that happened during my time with Richard, Matt, Russ and the crew of International Telecom’s CS Intrepid. I will leave you with this: I have never had such an
opportunity to work with a more talented, knowledgeable or welcoming group in my time in this awesome industry. It is my most earnest hope that our paths cross again on a future project, and that I have the opportunity to share their stories.
Kristian Nielsen literally grew up in the business since his first ‘romp’ on a BTM cableship in Southampton at age 5. He has been with Submarine Telecoms Forum for a little over 6 years; he is the originator of many products, such as the Submarine Cable Map, STF Today Live Video Stream, and the STF Cable Database. In 2013, Kristian was appointed Vice President and is now responsible for the vision, sales, and overall direction and sales of SubTel Forum.
INTELLIGENCE, ANALYSIS, AND
THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE COMMUNITY
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Submarine Cables
For Small Island States In The Pacific
Paul McCann & John Hibbard
There are 22 island countries and territories that make up the Pacific Island region, and these represent an enormous diversity in physical geography and culture, languages and socialpolitical organization, size and resource endowment. Spread over an area of 30 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean are at least 7,500 islands of which only around 500 are inhabited. These Small Island States (SIS) are characterised by generally small populations, typically less than one million people – and often around 100,000 people, with GDP per capita and the socio-economic state at the lower end of the scale. Frequently they have a limited number of skilled people, and many highly
qualified practitioners leave to secure jobs in the more populated countries. Despite their many synergies and a sense of regional allegiance, competition does exist between nations - SIS have to compete for tourism and for trade. Being limited by their remoteness and the cost of getting goods to market, SIS need to be
innovative and selective in how they market the few products they have as compared to larger countries. Often they simply lack the infrastructure to be efficient.
Some of these disadvantages – such as remoteness and lack of volume – cannot be overcome, but many of these limitations can be mitigated with closer links to the world. The threat
to the SIS in the Pacific Ocean is that if they don’t compete, they will slip further behind, resulting in even less money to develop.
Better Communications is the Key
For the small, isolated Pacific islands, access to more affordable and reliable
telecommunications –particularly high-speed (broadband) internet – offers new economic opportunities. It has been estimated that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration raises GDP by over 1 percent in such countries. Growth is generated as the cost of business, government and household communications are reduced, and new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business opportunities such as investments in e-commerce and business process outsourcing facilities are possible. The use of
improved ICT connectivity for remote delivery of services such as agricultural extension, policing, health, employment, disaster management and banking is only limited by imagination.
Some Benefits of Improved Connectivity
In the end, the principal justification for capital to improve connectivity to the SIS is the benefit derived from the superior internet service that underpins the whole fabric of telecommunications, and the provision of social and economic benefits. Some of these include:
Home Entertainment
Currently, apart from DVD’s, international television is received via satellite, but because of the limited capacity, and it’s susceptibility to adverse weather, the quality and number of channels is naturally restricted with few channels geared to local preferences – likewise
Google, Facebook, YouTube etc. The availability of fast speed, high bandwidth and high download limit broadband would enable home entertainment to grow.
Remote Health Services
SIS frequently lack the skills and equipment
Tele-Working
The urbanization of the world is a growing concern. More and more job-seekers are migrating to cities – many overseas – to obtain work. This causes fragmentation of families, and places stress on the work/life balance. With Tele-working in combination with good access to communications, working from your home SIS can mean that the wealth that is personally generated stays in the home country and community. It can also reduce offshore migration.
E-Business
needed for diagnosis of health problems. Experts are located overseas. The SIS based clinic can have specialist equipment such as X-ray, MRI, Ultrasound and ECG machines, which can relay the data from the machines to a specialist at a central location. Remote home based monitoring
is now possible by fitting a Bluetooth transmitter to a blood pressure monitor, or a diabetes tester, a set of scales or an electronic stethoscope, data can be transferred via even a 2.5G mobile handset and then overseas.
Increasingly, business is being done electronically. More and more goods and services are being bought over the internet. Failure to support e-business is clearly detrimental to a country and will be the differentiator between countries which are the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
Economic development is strongly related to the degree of trade but some
of the disadvantages of SIS remoteness can disappear by the transition to the e-commerce world.
Current SIS Costs of Communications
Cost effective connections to the rest of the world are vital for SIS to grow and compete efficiently. Until recently, SIS had to rely on geosynchronous satellites, which, because of the dispersed geography of the Pacific, needed to charge high prices. Capacity for Internet connectivity often costs more than $2000 per month for a single Megabitper-second. Where-as, the developed countries are less than $100, which puts SIS at a severe disadvantage.
However, there has been a recent emergence of systems like O3B , which offers lower latency capacity at less than $1000 per month. However the potential for disruption from the violent weather in the Pacific, and the limitations on capacity means they may only be suitable in the early
development phase. In the longer term, cables are needed. Where those have introduced, prices below $400 have been achieved. Such costs will continue to decrease with volume.
Satellite remains essential to providing a complementary technology supporting cable - but clearly, the traffic highway of the future for SIS will not be made with bitumen but rather it will be made with glass. However the real challenge is to be able afford a cable.
Funding their improvement
Many SIS have small, weak economies and remain unable to attract cost effective loans required to fund development. Rarely, wealthy entrepreneurs step up to fund international connectivity. This is where the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) and various aid agencies have helped. However, for many years, MDBs such as the World Bank and ADB in the Pacific, AusAid, NZ Aid, Japan’s JICA and others, have focussed on national projects, such as
roads, hospitals, airports, sanitation, etc., Some focus was also given to domestic communications development. It had not been until recently the MDBs had set aside money for regional projects, for which a qualifying requirement was that they had to involve two counties – preferably two SIS. The World Bank was the first to recognise that international submarine cables were the ideal project on which to utilise regional funds. ADB soon followed suit. But still, there are more opportunities and the emergence of the Chinese-initiated MDB called AIIB may provide the opportunity for more SIS to obtain funding for submarine cable systems.
The Capex issue
Typically, international submarine cable systems cost around $25,000 per kilometre. Typical distance between SIS and the nearest region hub would be around 1500 kilometres. Accordingly, for a typical SIS cable system, $US40M
would be required. For those SIS at the lower end of the socio-economic scale, raising such capital is unimaginable, and MDB grant money (no interest or capital repayment) can be the only hope. For many SIS, however, a grant is not an option. As such, they need to rely upon concessional funding (such as 1% interest and 30 years repayment). To get access to funds requires a strong business case and justification. The principal objective of the aid agencies is to assist the development of the country, and a submarine cacle is just a means to achieve this.
Because the agencies are spending donors’ money, they need to scrutinise every element of the project to ensure that none of the funds are misdirected. This results in a long process and somewhat tortuous one for those involved in helping the SIS get the money. However the potential rewards of a new cable and a better connected population can justify the effort required.
The Opex issue
While securing the necessary capital remains a significant challenge, the ongoing operational costs for a cable solution cannot be misjudged. In general funding agencies do not provide funds for ongoing operational costs. In fact, operational costs can comprise the primary future cost burden.
Marine maintenance is generally the largest single cost item. At typically $US300 per km per year, marine maintenance cost alone can represent an underlying operational cost of $US50 per Mbps per month (based upon a 1500 km cable with 1Gbps of capacity in service). Typically operational costs for a SIS cable are exceed
$US1M per annum which compels higher prices to cover costs.
The dichotomy for SIS is that their cable is their umbilical cord. Those that have cable only have one and to save on the budget, a modest 10% of capacity is often retained on satellite for lifeline purposes. Unlike larger economies with huge capacity demand,
where operational costs can equate to cents per megabit per month, and economies who have multiple cables so rapid repairs are not so critical, SIS has an essential requirement for premium repair services. For SIS, taking a cheaper maintenance service is effectively betting the country.
Arguably the biggest challenge for SIS, operational costs must be met from the revenue generated, while endeavouring to achieve the lower internet charges required to justify the initial
provision of capital and simultaneously stimulate enough demand to generate sufficient revenue – and the resulting economic growth for the country.
What has been Achieved and What is the Path Ahead?
Despite all the challenges, and through many creative solutions, determination and support, numerous SIS cables have been installed in the last decade. The following graph shows the respective capacity growth of the systems.
The great news here is that this growth in capacity represents an average CAGR across the systems of 39 percent - clearly demonstrating the value of the cables as the conduit for improving the SIS lifestyles and economies.
The history behind these SIS cables provides significant insight for the future:
A-PNG2 operates between Port Moresby (PNG) and Sydney (Australia). It is majority owned by Telikom PNG, with Telstra and Spark as the other owners. The cable was implemented by re-using and re-routing the then recently retired PacRim West Cable from Sydney to Guam. Some 1800 kms of cable was recovered from south of Guam and used to extend the first 1500 kms out of Sydney to create the 3300 km cable to Port Moresby. The original repeaters and terminal equipment was reused to produce a cable of 1.1 Gbps. Costing only about 20% the cost of a new cable, A-PNG2 has served PNG well for the
last decade but now has capacity limitations.
GONDWANA operates from Noumea (New Caledonia) to Sydney (Australia), a distance of some 2000 kms. The cable was the initiative the local carrier OPT, and was funded locally with the support of the French government. Once the price of capacity was reduced, the demand boomed – driven strongly by the significant mining industry in New Caledonia.
ASH/SAS Cables: Following the A-PNG2, success in the re-use of a retired cable, Elandia (owner of carrier Blue Sky) and the American Samoa Government combined to implement a project, which re-used the PacRim East cable between Auckland and Hawaii. Passing close by Pago Pago, the implementation involved cutting the cable some 500kms south of Pago Pago, recovering to the north and relaying into Pago to create a cable Pago to Hawaii. The extra cable, which was recovered, was
used to create an unrepeatered link to Apia in Samoa. Similar to A-PNG2, the repeaters and terminal gear was re-used to create a 4500 km cable and a 280 km cable for a small fraction of the price of a new one.
PPC1 to PNG: When PPC1 cable, between Sydney and Guam, was announced, Telikom PNG invited the owners to route through their territorial waters to save some 600 kms and allow a spur to the northern city of Madang. Because of the topography of PNG, it is difficult to service the north from the southern capital Port Moresby. So the capacity to Sydney and Guam enabled the northern half of PNG to get cost effective global connectivity.
TONGA CABLE: This was the first cable in the region to benefit from the initiative of the World Bank to support the provision of submarine cables for SIS. Combining ADB and World Bank funding enabled the Tonga Cable to be built about 830 kms to Fiji for connection
into the Southern Cross and onward to the global internet. This was a new cable providing vastly increased capacity at a lower price and confirmed the advantages of deploying development bank funds to help assist the improvement in the economic and social environment of an SIS.
HANTRU CABLE: This cable operates between both Majuro and Kwajalein (Marshall Islands) to Guam, with a spur to Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia). The cable involves the use of one fibre pair by U.S. DOD with the other pair for commercial use. Funding for the commercial
cable came from U.S. development funds such as RUS.
HONOTUA: This a 4500 km cable from Tahiti to Hawaii. Funded by local money as well as funding from the French Government, the cable is owned by the local carrier OPT. Because of the large number of islands in French Polynesia,
a domestic extension to the major tourist destinations of Moorea and Bora Bora was implemented as part of the same project
INTERCHANGE CABLE
:
This was the first cable of a Pacific SIS developed by an entrepreneur and funded with commercial debt. Connecting Port Vila (Vanuatu) to Suva (Fiji), a distance of 1300 kms, it provided onward connectivity via the Southern Cross cable. With some ownership by the Vanuatu National Provident Fund and the Government, it highlighted the local NPF as a new potential source of funding for SIS cables.
What about the Future – SIS Cables Under Development
The future is sturdy for the SIS countries with multiple new developments already under way:
Solomon Islands – Sydney: Equity from NPF and Solomon Telekom with debt from ADB and commercial banks. Currently out for tender. Ready for Service: First Half 2017.
Samoa - Fiji: Equity from local carriers, NPF and Samoa trust funds with debt from World Bank, ADB and AusAid. Ready for Service: Mid 2017
Palau-Yap (FSM) - Guam: Funding from ADB and World Bank. Ready for Service during 2017.
But it doesn’t stop thereother major cable systems routed nearby many SIS are under consideration, this includes Hawaiki Cable and APX-E. Furthermore, cable diversity solutions are also being considered, which include SIS countries New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Tahiti.
Summary
As can be seen, different approaches have been used to secure cables for SIS. There is no one single standardhowever the connectivity of the region has been enhanced substantially. With money coming the MDBs, aid agencies, NPFs, local carriers, national Governments and private entities, cables have
been established by a variety of means—new standalone carriers, spurs from passing cables and re-use of retired cables, are all contributing –and all are aimed at getting high quality, high capacity, lower cost connections for the Small Island States of the Pacific to the World to improve the overall quality of life in SIS!
John is CEO of Hibbard Consulting Pty Ltd specializing in international telecommunications by leveraging off his experience as MD Global Wholesale at Telstra. John now focusses on submarine cables utilizing his experience as founding Chairman of the Australia Japan Cable to assist particularly developing countries in acquiring submarine cables.
Paul McCann is Managing Director of McCann Consulting International Pty Ltd. Paul has over 40 years network planning & development experience in telecommunications both in international and domestic arenas. Prior to returning to consulting in 2012, Paul spent over 8 years with Verizon in Asia Pacific, driving growth of Verizon’s network across Asia by developing & implementing plans delivering major operational cost reductions and improved service performance. Paul is now Managing Director of his own consulting business where the core business focus is on “connectivity” with expertise spanning all aspects of planning and development for Satellite, Submarine cable and Domestic access technologies and business. Paul is well known for his personable nature, his rapport with customers and his ability to deliver on time.
Emerging Subsea Networks
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The world’s expanding treasure
Hosted by
International Connectivity And Its
Regional Benefits
Derek Cassidy
The idea of a regional network goes back to the very heart of the cultural history of Europe. Here there were nation states and regions ruled and administered on a basis of isolation from others and only communicating with allies and friends and alienating foes and those countries where there was some disagreement.
Historical Ireland, being an island nation helped create the natural barrier to communications and this lack of international communications helped to foster a level on inward development, so much so that over the last few thousand years Ireland has developed a culture that is independent of other cultures but still has links to them via facets of their design and makeup. But the Irish cultural design and heritage are unique to the island. The origins of the Irish, by J.P Mallory, investigates the origins of the peoples of Ireland where they come from, but no definable agreeable
path could be deduced from the historical record within the British Isles which could point to a significant starting point.
So it was for a long time that Ireland was a trading post with the rest of Europe, but not a significant one, with the exception of Galway being a major stopping off point for many traders as they took the long journey by sea from France and other European nations to the new world, stopping off in Galway to pick up supplies and to take note of the last landfall for a couple of months of travel ahead, sure even Columbus knew of Galway and its links to the trading routes.
However years before this during the dark ages it was the fact that Ireland was so isolated that technically saved the cultural heritage of the rest of Europe. By the establishment of the early monasteries and the development of the writings and teachings that the monks
opportunity that would someday lead to the tearing down of the oceanic barrier between the Ireland and Britain and the rest of the world.
From those early days in the 1850’s with the development and innovation in telegraph systems right up to the early 2000’s have seen new cable systems connect the island to lands that were home to the Irish immigrants.
It is this want to communicate that has been at the centre of Irish culture long before those times and has helped to nurture a desire to spread our culture and learn from others. However it was the development of the telegraph that helped to create an
However all those submarine links were all designed by telecommunication companies with one desire, to build communication links that would allow for the quick transmission of signals across Europe and to the US and beyond. All for the creation of a larger corporate telecommunication footprint and managed by one corporate entity. These links were not regional but territorial in that they connected territories and not distinct regions. But in the last few years the idea of creating a link between helped to record the histories of Europe, by travelling abroad, listening and recording what they heard so that all these could be written down. Communication was very important, even in the dark ages where the development of the educated Monk help push Ireland forward into the area of communications by the establishment of schools and educational centres, that were established long before the European Universities, but where very outward thinking in their educational ethos. This isolation helped to keep Ireland free off the bitterness and despair of the dark ages and also helped to produce a culture that gave us the name of “The land of Saints and Scholars”.
Ireland and the UK or Europe for the purpose of delivering communication traffic and being managed by an operating telecommunication company was changing. New systems were being designed that would open up the market to players within the field of communications
to build their own networks and use these new systems as a link to the old and new worlds.
These new systems are now connecting to regions, for the purpose of developing these regions into areas of international connectivity. The perfect example is the
Cork, will need to become a Hub, a Communications Hub that can host the companies that wish to develop this link to their own needs. The idea for this development has been long in the making and as we have discussed before, the Cork Internet Exchange (CIX) is well poised to take advantage of this by being the Co-Location (Co-Lo) for this development. Cork, as being the regional capital will also be the new digital capital of the region.
Ireland to France Cable. It is a cable designed to connect Cork, Ireland to Lannion, France so that this link will bypass the UK and allow for fast direct connection between Cork and Europe straight into the heart of Europe. However its connection points will also benefit from this.
There is another reason why Cork is being ear-marked for this development, there have been other submarine cables that have landed in Cork, but only used the region as a transit hub and not a hosting or development hub. But by creating Cork into a hosting hum would allow for quick transmission from Europe and the UK to the US and Asia without the need to transverse Ireland to achieve this. By connecting Ireland to the international grid allows for the connect speed to
increase and for the increase in connectivity for the market leaders.
The Hibernia Express cable is also connecting into Cork, allowing for a second cable to help with the development of this international hosting hub. With two cables, both connecting to Europe and the UK with a connection to the US will allow for a new development in the high speed data and web based services in the Cork Region and surrounding areas. The Hibernia Express cable is a fast cable that will reduce the cross Atlantic traffic latency by 6ms which will only assist to benefit this region.
But as usual when it rains it pours and this is the case with international submarine links, the Arctic Fibre system will also use Cork as a transit and hosting hub so as to connect Ireland and specifically this region to the world. This cable will connect Cork to Asia and will also offer links to the North Americas and beyond.
This is a new era for this region and will allow for the increase in development and technology. For many years Dublin was seen as the communication centre in Ireland for submarine cable connectivity; however Ireland does have technological regions such as Galway, and Limerick. However these regions all had to transit communication and data traffic through Dublin. However this is not always a bad thing. With the development of the CeltixConnect and Emerald Bridge submarine cables. The links to the UK on a neutral
carrier basis has helped to develop Dublin even further and has allowed for companies to increase their development in technology by being close to a region that has international connectivity.
With these two cables and being supplemented by the East West Interconnector
submarine cable will allow for these cables to complete with the existing telecommunication owned cables like BT, Eircom, and Virgin Media who carry communication traffic between areas, regions and countries. However these are managed services and not carrier neutral systems and do not allow for the development of communication and non-telecommunication companies to spread their network connectivity by developing their access.
With the CeltixConnect, Emerald Bridge and East West Interconnector cables, these allow for the network development and also allow for the future development of the regions as these cables will enable international companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft have an access to their international markets without going through the established telecommunication carriers but through neutral carriers.
This neutral carrier network will allow for the development of the regions in Dublin and Cork. However it is seen that Dublin, with a concentration of Web Hosting, Data Hosting and Software Development companies will benefit from this network design and carrier neutral access. But the development of the region in Cork should be more intense as these new international connections via Ireland to France Cable, Hibernia Express and Arctic Fibre will also enhance the connectivity to markets only reached today via Dublin. By being able to get direct access via Cork will allow for these regional cables to grow with the region and they will be mutually beneficial to each other as they will offer a diverse range in connectivity destinations and with Seattle being one of the points of connections for the Arctic Fibre cable, this will in no doubt allow for a direct connection between HQ and subsidiary for some of the interested parties.
It can be seen from historical research that Ireland tried to expand its communication footprint but was always barred from doing so by the expanse of the ocean and seas, now with a new invigoration in submarine connectivity and especially the concentrated regional connectivity. Ireland will be able to see its ability to become a partner in world communications becoming a reality.
Derek Cassidy is from Dublin, Ireland. He has worked for 23 years in the telecommunications industry of which 21 years have been spent dealing with optical terrestrial systems and submarine networks. He works for BT in their Networks and Optical Engineering division. He is Chairman of the Irish Communications Research Group, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the promotion, protection and research of Ireland’s communication heritage. He is a Chartered Engineer with the IET and is also a member of the IEEE and Engineers Ireland, and has Degrees in Physics/Optical Engineering, Structural/ Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Design and has Masters Degrees in Structural, Mechanical, Forensic Engineering and Optical Engineering. He is currently researching the Communication History of Ireland and is doing a PhD research programme in the field of Optical Engineering.
How Celtixconnect Changed The Course Of Connectivity For A Nation And Beyond
Tom McMahon
Aqua Comms Limited (AquaComms) , a provider of scalable, subsea capacitybased network solutions, is currently constructing the America Europe Connect (AEConnect), the latest and most advanced transatlantic subsea fiber optic cable system, which is scheduled for completion in December.
However, the company first built its reputation on the success of a regional submarine fiber optic cable system, CeltixConnect, whose installation came at what can be considered a seminal moment in the history of the telecommunications industry, and today remains very much in demand.
Indeed, one can argue that until CeltixConnect was installed, Ireland risked the possibility of becoming a marooned digital island, cut off from the United Kingdom as well as Continental Europe.
Fortunately, history, shaped largely by way of CeltixConnect, took a more fortuitous path, not only for Ireland, but also for the many global enterprises that have established their businesses there as an entry point to the UK, Europe and beyond.
CeltixConnect, Today
AquaComms is the parent of Sea Fibre Networks, which built CeltixConnect, an Irish Sea subsea cable.
CeltixConnect extends from the East Point Business Park in Dublin to Holyhead, Wales. In Ireland, CeltixConnect connects
to the T50, Dublin’s major metropolitan network, which links all the major business districts, data centres and business parks of the capital city.
On the United Kingdom side, CeltixConnect links into its own strategic network at Halmer End,
known as the Staffordshire Gateway. This strategically positioned gateway facilitates fibre connections northward to Manchester, directly south to London and onward to Europe over multiple third-party fibre providers through Sea Fibre’s Partner Network Programme.
While AEConnect will span more than 5,400 km across the Atlantic — landing in Shirley, New York and Killala on the West Coast of Ireland, and including stubbed branching units for future landings — it will use CeltixConnect to provide extended connectivity to London and greater Europe.
AquaComms’s future regional expansion includes FastNet Connect, a subsea cable connecting Ireland to France with a link to the UK. FastNet Connect will create a resilient loop of subsea connectivity between Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe, while linking up with the
majority of the current transatlantic, European, Indian and African gateway cables. Once complete, the FastNet Connect route will provide the only direct link between Ireland and Continental Europe, while offering resiliency and diversity to CeltixConnect.
Looking Back at the Tipping Point
Construction on CeltixConnect was completed in December 2011, and looking back on the timing of its entry into the market and the market forces at work at that time offers a revealing window not only into recent history, but the immediate present and future of regional subsea cable systems.
At the time CeltixConnect became operational, regional subsea cables were aging and inadequate in number to meet the increasing capacity requirements between Ireland and the UK. Between
1997 and 2001, a series of submarine cables were installed between Ireland and the UK, and between Ireland and the United States. However, because of the economic downturn that followed shortly thereafter, and despite major advances in optical transmission capability, no new systems were built to meet the growing demand or to replace the older cable systems that were approaching end-of-life.
Most of the current Irish Sea submarine cables were laid around 1999, the most recent at that time in 2001.
Life expectancy for subsea cables can range from 15 to 20 years, depending on a number of factors. Older cables typically have lower life expectancy, since laying methods as well as the employed technologies have improved with time. Evidence also suggests that some of the earlier Irish Sea cables suffered from poor burial techniques, whereby
sections of the cables became intermittently exposed.
As many global enterprises, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, established their European bases in Ireland, and with them, their data center facilities, the sharp upward spike in demand for connectivity
reached a tipping point. However, the lack of new submarine cables between Ireland and the UK threatened to constrict the future growth of high-tech companies and enterprises.
Overnight, a GameChanger
Enter CeltixConnect into the picture, whose shortest possible subsea route, diversity from other cable systems, and integration with terrestrial cable systems and major communication nodes, along with other
critical factors, including the avoidance of sensitive fishing grounds, were all key determinants in establishing the optimum route design.
In terms of connectivity, CeltixConnect at installation comprised 72 fibre pairs (G652D) at a time when the majority of existing cables had a capacity of between 4 and 12 fibre pairs. CeltixConnect nearly doubled the effective capacity between the Ireland and the UK virtually overnight. CeltixConnect’s pioneering subsea dark fiber business model, where each fiber is capable of carrying up to 960 Gbps utilizing 100G wave technology, the equivalent of 480 hours of video per second, immediately offered customers increased reliability, security, scalability, and technical longevity at a competitive price point.
In addition to offering connectivity and the
latest optical technology, CeltixConnect was also a momentous development from a political perspective. The cable system garnered the public support of several Irish government leaders for its significant impact on the Irish economy due to its success in driving job creation and attracting foreign investment to the country.
Built for the Future
Three short years later, when the most recent Cisco Visual Networking Index Forecast projected that global IP traffic will pass the zettabyte threshold by the end of 2016, and with video continuing to be a main driver of the traffic, it’s apparent that CeltixConnect’s capacity, at inception, was designed to anticipate the demand.
As IT, content and media companies continue to select Ireland as their place of business in order to better serve their customers in the
UK and Continental Europe, the need for connectivity, storage and transport for these enterprises will only increase. Moreover, with the proliferation of content and data exchange, bandwidth-hungry applications and Cloud services such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) for backup and recovery, CeltixConnect will provide customers the capacity they need to grow their business for many years to come.
Tom McMahon is the CTO of AquaComms Limited. Tom oversees all engineering and technology issues and manages the core team of AquaComms project engineers. Tom plays a key role in the current CeltixConnect subsea cable, managing landfalls, marine installation, procurement and commissioning, in addition to sales support and pre-sales activity. Prior to his involvement with Sea Fibre Networks, a subsidiary of AquaComms, Tom was Consulting Engineer and Project Manager on a number of large-scale projects, including both subsea cable and terrestrial networks. Among these were Esat l, Esat ll, Hibernia Atlantic, TGN Western Europe, TGN Northern Europe, ScotlandIreland Interconnector, EastWest Electrical Interconnector, Kerry MANs Project, Donegal MANs Project and the North East MANs Project. Tom earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Structural Design from Trinity College Dublin
Telecoms consulting of submarine cable systems for regional and trans-oceanic applications
Back Reflection
by Stewart Ash
Great Eastern’s Debut
One hundred and fifty years ago this month, the SS Great Eastern commenced her maiden cable laying operation by starting to lay a cable from Valentia on the west coast of Ireland towards Newfoundland in Canada.
The SS Great Eastern was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59) to carry passengers from Britain to Australia without the need to bunker for coal on route. She was built at Millwall on the River Thames, in the shipyard of John Scott Russell (1808-
82). The contract for her construction, between Scott Russell and the Eastern Steam Navigation Company, was signed on 22 December 1853 and construction began on 1 May 1854. After many trials and tribulations, including Scott Russell’s bankruptcy, which stopped construction work between February 1856 and August 1857, she was finally launched on 31 January 1858. The construction and launch ran considerably over budget and she still had to be fitted out. To achieve this, a second company, ‘The Great Ship Company’,
was formed with a capital valuation of £340,000. This company bought the hull and engines for £160,000. The Eastern Steamship Company share-holders were given shares in the new company and the Eastern Steamship Company was put into liquidation. Shortly after the launch the vessel was moved to Deptford on the south bank of the Thames where she sat while the commercial issues were resolved. The Great Ship Company finally invited tenders for fitting her out and received two in response – one from Wigram and Lucas
for £142,000, and the other from John Scott Russell for £125,000. Brunel had taken a long holiday on medical advice and was absent when the decision was made to award the contract to Scott Russell. The work was begun in January 1859, and was completed by August of the same year.
The maiden voyage was originally scheduled for 30 August 1859, but had to be delayed until 6 September. The plan was to sail from the Thames to Weymouth in Dorset, from where Atlantic sea trials would be undertaken. However, while passing Hastings, on
the Sussex coast, a massive explosion blew the forward of the five funnels off the deck. Five stokers were killed and several badly scalded by the superheated steam released in the explosion. Brunel had suffered a stroke just before the maiden voyage and had been confined to bed, he learned of this latest disaster just before he died on 15 September 1859. He would never know the pivotal role the SS Great Eastern was to play in the great Atlantic Cable story.
Although designed for Far East trade the Great Eastern only ever operated as a passenger ship on the North Atlantic route, making several trips to America, between 1860 and 1863. However, the company lost money on each of these voyages, due to an aggressive price war that went on with the Cunard and Inman shipping lines. By 1864, the Great Ship Company had debts in excess of £142,000 and was forced to lay the ship up.
On 14 January 1864, the SS Great Eastern was sold at auction in Liverpool for £25,000, although in materials alone she was estimated to be worth more than £100,000. She was bought by a syndicate comprising Daniel Gooch (1816-89), Thomas Brassey (1805-77) and John Pender (1816-96). Gooch had worked as Brunel’s assistant in the construction of the ship from October 1856. A new company, ‘The Great Eastern Steamship Company’ was set up with Gooch as Chairman and the ship was quickly chartered to the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Telcon) for the consideration of £50,000 worth of shares in the chartering company. Telcon had been formed on 7 April 1864, by the merger of the Gutta Percha Company and Glass, Elliot & Company. Gooch was also a director of Telcon and would become its second chairman.
The first chairman of Telcon was John Pender and the company’s first contract was to lay a cable across the Atlantic for the Atlantic Telegraph Company, a company which Pender had been a major investor in and director of since it was first established in November 1856. This contract for the new Atlantic cable was signed on 5 May 1864. Much investigation had taken place since the failure of the 1857-58 Atlantic cable and a much heavier and more durable cable design was planned. The greatly increased size and weight of the new cable design meant that the SS Great Eastern was the only ship capable of accommodating the load of 2,300 miles of cable required under the contract. In addition, Telcon’s manufacturing facilities at Morden and Enderby Wharves had to be significantly modified and upgraded. The British Government committee report, issued in April
John Scott Russell’s Shipyard 1858
1861, into the failure of the Atlantic and Red Sea cable projects, had strongly recommended that that the finished cable should be stored submerged in water, and that its insulation should be tested at regular intervals. To accommodate this requirement, eight large, water tight tanks made from ⅝” (15.87mm) and ½” (12.7mm) steel plates were erected on the Greenwich peninsula site. Four of the tanks were circular, 34ft (10.26m) in diameter and 12ft (3.66m) deep; they could hold
153 miles (244.8km) of cable. The other four were elliptical in shape, 36ft (19.20m) long, 27ft (8.23m) wide and 12ft (3.66m) deep; they could hold 140 miles (224km) of cable.
Cable production progressed at 80 miles (128km) a week and the tanks were gradually filled. Because the SS Great Eastern was too large to load directly from the Telcon factory, she was moored in the River Medway, at Sheerness.
Transfer of the cable to her from the factory was
carried out using two small sailing ships, the Amethyst and Iris loaned to Telcon by the British Admiralty.
Considerable conversion work was required to fit the watertight tanks to these vessels. The Amethyst was fitted with two tanks; each was 29ft (8.84m) in diameter and 14½ft (4.42m) deep, capable of holding 153 miles (244.8km). The Iris had two tanks; one was 29ft (8.84m) in diameter and 14½ft (4.42m) deep, capable of holding 153 miles (244.8km), the other
was 24ft (7.32m) wide and 17ft (5.18m) deep and could hold 110 miles (176km) of cable.
The SS Great Eastern was fitted with three watertight tanks made with ⅝” (15.87mm) steel plate. The forward tank was 51½ft (15.70m) in diameter and 20½ft (6.25m) deep, capable of holding 693 miles (1,108.8km) of cable. The mid-ships tank was 58½ft (17.83m) in diameter and 20½ft (6.25m) deep, capable of holding 899 miles (1,438.4km) of cable. The
Telcon Factory tanks 1865
Cable Loaded onto the Iris @ Enderby Wharf 1865
aft tank was 58ft (17.68m) in diameter and 20½ft (6.25m) deep, capable of holding 898 miles (1,436.8km).
Production of the final length of cable was completed on 29 May 1865 and the final transfer of cable to the SS Great Eastern was accomplished by the Amethyst on 14 June. Ten days later, the Great Eastern sailed from the Medway, under the command of Captain James Anderson (1824-93) and first officer Robert Halpin (1836-94), carrying 7,000 tons of cable,
2,000 tons of cable tanks and 7,000 tons of coal. At the Nore, in the mouth of the Thames estuary, she took on a further 1,500 tons of coal, which brought her total dead weight up to 21,000 tons. By the 19 July she had anchored at Berehaven in Bantry Bay and commenced preparations for the great undertaking.
During 20-22 July the SS Caroline carried out the installation of the shore-end in Foilhummerum Bay at Valentia. The cable end was finally buoyed at 10:30pm on 22 July, 26 miles west-
north-west of Valentia in 75 fathoms (137m) of water.
On the morning of 23 July the Caroline recovered the buoy and the end of the shore end cable. Then the cable end from the SS Great Eastern was also brought aboard her deck. By 17:15, the initial splice was complete and all testing was deemed satisfactory. At 19:15 the Caroline slipped the initial splice and the Great Eastern commenced pay-out. She was accompanied by HMS Terrible & HMS Sphinx.
Cable laying operations continued, with some minor problems, until 2 August, when the cable parted and was lost in 2,000 fathoms (3,658m) of water, just 600 miles (960km) from Newfoundland, which would have been the end of the lay. Several days were spent trying to recover the cable end but by 11 August 1865, the officers and crew had to concede defeat. The Great Eastern deployed a buoy at the location of the lost cable end and returned to England.
Transfer to the Great Eastern @ Sheerness
As is well known, new capital was raised, a new cable was manufactured by Telcon and the Great Eastern successfully completed the lay of this new cable, across the Atlantic, the following year. This installation operations were completed on 26 July 1866. The Great Eastern then returned to the location of the 1865 cable end and, on 2 September, after 30 attempts, she recovered the 1865 cable and completed its installation to Newfoundland on 8 September 1866.
The Times reporter, Irishman William Howard Russell (1820-1907), sailed on the SS Great Eastern in 1865 and his book “The Atlantic Telegraph”, illustrated by Robert Dudley (1826-1900) and published by Day & Son in 1866, is still the definitive history and go-to reference book for the SS Great Eastern’s debut as a cable layer.
The 1865 operation, and its associated supply contract, heralded the rise of Telcon and the start of its successful association with the SS Great Eastern. The Great Eastern continued to lay major systems for Telcon until 1874 when, after laying two more trans-Atlantic cables, from Valentia to Hearts Content, she was decommissioned and replaced by Telcon’s custom built cable ship Faraday.
With the successful crossing of the Atlantic, the submarine cable industry had come of age, an industry that Telcon and its succes-
sors would come to dominate for 150 years. The Morden and Enderby Wharf sites have been associated with the manufacture of submarine cable systems since the first successful English Channel cable of 1851. For more information about how the Greenwich peninsula played a leading role in the three eras of subsea telecommunications, see the Atlantic Cable website @ ´ http://atlantic-cable. com/CableCos/EnderbysWharf/
Stewart Ash’s career in the Submarine Cables industry spans more than 40 years, he has held senior management positions with STC Submarine Cables (now Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks), Cable & Wireless Marine and Global Marine Systems Limited. While with GMSL he was, for 5 years, Chairman of the UJ Consortium. Since 2005 he has been a consultant, working independently and an in association with leading industry consultants Pioneer Consulting, Red Penguin Associates, Walker Newman and WFN Strategies, providing commercial and technical support to clients in the Telecoms and Oil & Gas sectors.
Cover Page of Russell’s Book
Summer’s winding down and the days are getting shorter, it’s that time of the year when the industry comes back from holiday and projects kick into high gear. Here at Sub Tel, we’re starting our mad sprint to the end of the year! As we’re staring down 3rd and 4th quarter, we have our biggest products of the year.
STF Supplement (August 17) will highlight Upgraders, followed by the STF Magazine issue offering opinion and updates on the same in December. These two issues are the only specific venues for such detail and analysis in SubTel Forum on the topic, and the best avenue to reach audiences interested in the state of upgrades in the industry.
readers, I’m offering a full page ad in both Upgrad er issues (Supplement and Magazine) for $6,000, a 40% discount. Contact me August 13 to reserve place ment.
As always, the annual Report, Calendar, and Map are coming up as well, be sure to reserve your space as soon as possible as they’re all filling up early!
Kristian Nielsen literally grew up in the business since his first ‘romp’ on a BTM cableship in Southampton at age 5. He has been with Submarine Telecoms Forum for a little over 6 years; he is the originator of many products, such as the Submarine Cable Map, STF Today Live Video Stream, and the STF Cable Database. In 2013, Kristian was appointed Vice President and is now responsible for the vision, sales, and overall direction and sales of SubTel Forum.
First up, the name of the game is “Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades!”, the next
For those interested in reaching our some 65,000
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It’s summer time here at the SubTel Forum offices, which means that the world has slowed down while everyone named Nielsen heads off the beach to “work” and I’m left behind to keep the cableship afloat.
Since we haven’t been taking on any water, I decided that it was time to update our website. If you head on over to www.subtelforum.com, you can check out our new look & feel. What do you think?
There are a couple of features that I think are pretty cool and I want to bring to your attention. The new site has a top bar above our logo. From
this bar you can now click to view the latest issues of SubTel Forum Magazine, Submarine Cable Almanac and our Industry Supplement. You can also click a button to subscribe to our mailing list. If you received an email telling you about this issue, you’re already subscribed! We’ve also added a weekly news wrapup by our talented analyst, Kier Clark. Every Friday,
Kier is going to summarize the news of the week into a single, useful article.
We’re going to be adding a new feature soon... a brand new industry directory, so I’ll keep you posted about that. Otherwise, is there anything else you’d like to see on our website? Let me know. Thanks!
Kevin G. Summers is the Editor of Submarine Telecoms Forum and has been supporting the submarine fibre optic cable industry in various roles since 2007. Outside of the office, he is an author of fiction whose works include ISOLATION WARD 4, LEGENDARIUM and THE MAN WHO SHOT JOHN WILKES BOOTH. +1.703.468.0554
