SubTel Forum Magazine #124 - Global Capacity by Submarine Telelecoms Forum

SUBMARINE TELECOMS

FORUM ISSUE 124 | MAY 2022

GLOBAL CAPACITY

EXORIDUM FROM THE PUBLISHER WELCOME TO ISSUE 124, OUR GLOBAL CAPACITY EDITION

ace-To-Face Conferences are back …and like many, I could not be happier. I must admit I grew tired of “virtual” about 18 months ago. Don’t get me wrong, having the ability to communicate with your team via Teams or Webex or whatever has been a gamechanger for us. We are more effective with the capability than without. But trying to “conference” via a small screen has been incredibly difficult and frustrating. We are a social species, and we like proximity and intimate conversation. So, like many I am thrilled to be re-entering the conference arena anew. The first out-of-the-box conference for me was ITW, where we had the chance to visit with industry colleagues last seen in January 2020 in Honolulu. I heard there were more than 5,000 participants. It easily felt that big. I think most of us spent the first day or so in awe for being around so many people for the first time in years. Meeting after meeting was started with a quick capsulation of how you managed the last three years, but by the second day it was straight back to the business at hand. It’s great to be back.

CABLE ALMANAC

I heard there were more than 5,000 participants. It easily felt that big. I think most of us spent the first day or so in awe for being around so many people for the first time in years.

The latest edition of the Cable Almanac is back this month. Next week you will see our latest edition of the almanac, and we are trying to quickly encapsulate additional updates from a number of conference meetings.

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

There’s a lot happening in our industry to put it mildly, and we hope the almanac makes things a little easier to comprehend. Thanks as always for the updates from the industry.

ODE TO MIKE

I first met Mike Rieger about 20 years ago when he joined the industry in the system supplier space. I had just recently started WFN and SubTel Forum and he was someone you needed to meet. I think he thought we had partnerships or some such with others; so, he initially kept a cool distance. A few years later he reached out to me at a conference to say maybe he had misunderstood who we were and how we operated, and wanted to reboot a relationship, which I appreciated as a classy act. From then on we

A Publication of Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc. www.subtelforum.com ISSN No. 1948-3031 PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER: Wayne Nielsen | wnielsen@subtelforum.com | [+1] (703) 444-2527 VICE PRESIDENT: Kristian Nielsen | knielsen@subtelforum.com | [+1] (703) 444-0845 SALES: Teri Jones | tjones@subtelforum.com | [+1] (703) 471-4902

would meet-up at various venues to talk projects, compare notes and tell stupid stories. We even had the opportunity to work together on some efforts. I will miss those meet-ups. He left the party far too early, and I offer only my sincerest condolences to those who mattered most to Mike.

THANKS TO AUTHORS AND ADVERTISERS

Thank you especially to the excellent Authors who have contributed to this edition, including a couple of articles from last year’s edition, which were reprised and are just as relevant today! Thanks also for their support to this issue’s advertisers. Of course, our ever popular “where in the world are all those pesky cableships” is included as well. Thank you as always to our readers and supporters for honoring us with your interest. In a world full of Putins, be a Zelenskyy. #Ukraine STF Stay well,

Wayne Nielsen, Publisher

PROJECT MANAGER: Rebecca Spence | rspence@subtelforum.com | [+1] (703) 268-9285 EDITOR: Stephen Nielsen | snielsen@subtelforum.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Weswen Design | wendy@weswendesign.com DEPARTMENT WRITERS: Iago Bojczuk, Anne Pasek, Nicole Starosielski, Philip Pilgrim, Rebecca Spence, Terri Jones, and Wayne Nielsen FEATURE WRITERS: Bill Burns, Chris Wood, Italo Godoy, John Tibbles, Kaushik Sengupta, Kristian Nielsen, Marta Lahuerta Escolano, Patricio Boric, Ryan Wopschall, Simon Webster, and Stewart Ash

NEXT ISSUE: JULY 2022 – Regional Systems AUTHOR & ARTICLE INDEX: www.subtelforum.com/onlineindex Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc. www.subtelforum.com/corporate-information BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Margaret Nielsen, Wayne Nielsen and Kristian Nielsen SubTel Forum Continuing Education, Division of Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc. www.subtelforum.com/education CONTINUING EDUCATION DIRECTOR: Kristian Nielsen | knielsen@subtelforum.com | [+1] (703) 444-0845

Contributions are welcomed and should be forwarded to: pressroom@subtelforum.com. Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine is published bimonthly by Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc., and is an independent commercial publication, serving as a freely accessible forum for professionals in industries connected with submarine optical fiber technologies and techniques. Submarine Telecoms Forum may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publishers. Liability: While every care is taken in preparation of this publication, the publishers cannot be held

responsible for the accuracy of the information herein, or any errors which may occur in advertising or editorial content, or any consequence arising from any errors or omissions, and the editor reserves the right to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for publication. New Subscriptions, Enquiries and Changes of Address: 21495 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 201, Sterling, Virginia 20166, USA, or call [+1] (703) 444-0845, fax [+1] (703) 349-5562, or visit www.subtelforum.com. Copyright © 2022 Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc.

IN THIS FORUM ISSUE

SUBMARINE TELECOMS

ISSUE 124 | MAY 2022

features

7 QUESTIONS WITH LAURIE MILLER

SDM AND THE ERA OF VIRTUAL CABLES By John Tibbles

By Kaushik Sengupta

By Marta Lahuerta Escolano

GLOBAL CAPACITY: TRENDS, DRIVERS, ENABLERS AND DATA CENTERS

AFRICA’S DIGITAL BACKBONE By Chris Wood

THE LEGAL STATUS AND APPLICABLE REGIME OF INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE CABLES

THE EASTERN & ASSOCIATED TELEGRAPH COMPANIES By Stewart Ash and Bill Burns

4 SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

THE CONSULTANT’S ROLE IN SYSTEM COMMISSIONING by Kristian Nielsen

OPTICAL NETWORKS IN CHILE By Patricio Boric and Italo Godoy

departments EXORDIUM..................................................................2 SUBTELFORUM.COM....................................................6 STF ANALYTICS............................................................8 CABLE MAP UPDATE.................................................... 9 WHERE IN THE WORLD...............................................10 SUSTAINABLE SUBSEA................................................12 BACK REFLECTION..................................................... 62 ON THE MOVE............................................................ 70

SUBMARINE CABLE NEWS NOW..................................71 ADVERTISER CORNER................................................ 72

RELIABLE SUBMARINE CAPACITY By Ryan Wopschall and Simon Webster

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

SubTelForum.com

VisitSubTelForum.com SubTelForum.com to to find find links resources Visit linkstotothe thefollowing following resources

FREERESOURCES RESOURCESFOR FORALL ALLOUR OUR SUBTELFORUM.COM SUBTELFORUM.COM READERS FREE READERS The most popular articles, Q&As of 2021. TOP OFyou 2019 FindSTORIES out what missed! The most popular articles, Q&As of 2019. Find out what you NEWSmissed! NOW RSS FEED Keep on top of our world of coverage with our free News NEWSdaily NOW industry RSS FEEDupdate. News Now is a daily RSS feed Now Keep on top of our world of coverage with our freehighNews of news applicable to the submarine cable industry, Now daily industry update. News Now is a daily RSS&feed lighting Cable Faults & Maintenance, Conferences As-of news applicable to the submarine industry, highlighting sociations, Current Systems, Datacable Centers, Future Systems, Cable Faults & Maintenance, Associations, Offshore Energy, State of the Conferences Industry and&Technology & Current Systems, Data Centers, Future Systems, Offshore Upgrades. Energy, State of the Industry and Technology & Upgrades.

PUBLICATIONS PUBLICATIONS Submarine Cable Almanac is a free quarterly publica-

Submarine Cablethrough Almanacdiligent is a freedata quarterly publication made available gathering and tion madeefforts available through diligent data gathering and mapping by the analysts at SubTel Forum Analytics,

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

a division of Submarine Telecoms Forum. This reference mapping analysts at SubTel Forum Analytics, tool givesefforts detailsby onthe cable systems including a system map, a division of Submarine Telecoms Forum. This reference landing points, system capacity, length, RFS year and other tool givesdata. details on cable systems including a system map, valuable landing points,Telecoms system capacity, and free other Submarine Industrylength, ReportRFS is anyear annual valuable data. publication with analysis of data collected by the analysts of Submarine Report is an annualanalyfree SubTel ForumTelecoms Analytics,Industry including system capacity publication of data collected by the of analysts of sis, as well aswith the analysis actual productivity and outlook current SubTel Forum Analytics, including system capacity and planned systems and the companies that serviceanalythem. sis, as well as the actual productivity and outlook of current and planned CABLE MAP systems and the companies that service them. The online SubTel Cable Map is built with the industry CABLE MAP standard Esri ArcGIS platform and linked to the SubTel The online SubTel Cable Map is built withthe theprogress industryof Forum Submarine Cable Database. It tracks standard Esri ArcGIS platform and linked to the SubTel some 450+ current and planned cable systems, more than Forumlanding Submarine Cable It centers, tracks the of 1,200 points, overDatabase. 1,700 data 37 progress cable ships

as well as mobile subscriptions and internet accessibility data for 254 countries. Systems are also linked to SubTel Forum's News Now Feed, allowing viewing of current and archived news details. The printed Cable Map is an annual publication showcasing the world's submarine fiber systems beautifully drawn on a large format map and mailed to SubTel Forum Readership and/or distributed during Pacific Telecommunications Conference in January each year.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

SubTel Forum designs educational courses and master classes that can then appear at industry conferences around the world. Classes are presented on a variety of topics dealing with key industry technical, business, or commercial issues. See what classes SubTel Forum is accrediting in support of the next generation of leaders in our industry.

AUTHORS INDEX

The Authors Index is a reference source to help readers locate magazine articles and authors on various subjects.

SUBTEL FORUM BESPOKE REPORTS SubTel Forum provides industry analyses focused on a variety of topics. Our individualized reporting can provide industry insight for a perspective sale, business expansion or simply to assist in making solid business decisions and industry projections. We strive to make reporting easy to understand and keep the industry jargon to a minimum as we know not everyone who will see them are experts in submarine telecoms. In the past we have provided analyses pertaining to a number of topics and are not limited to those listed below. Reach out to info@subtelforum.com to learn more about our bespoke reports. DATA CENTER & OTT PROVIDERS: Details the increasingly shrinking divide between the cable landing station and the backhaul to interconnection services in order to maximize network efficiency throughout, bringing once disparate infrastructure into a single facility. If you are interested in the world of Data Centers and its impact on Submarine Cables, this reporting is for you. GLOBAL CAPACITY PRICING: Details historic and current capacity pricing for regional routes (Transatlantic, Transpacific, Americas, Intra-Asia and EMEA), delivering a comprehensive look at the global capacity pricing status of the submarine fiber industry. Capacity pricing trends and forecasting simplified.

GLOBAL OUTLOOK: Dive into the health and wellness of the global submarine telecoms market, with regional analysis and forecasting. This reporting gives an overview of planned systems, CIF and project completion rates, state of supplier activity and potential disruptive factors facing the market. OFFSHORE ENERGY: Provides a detailed overview of the offshore oil & gas sector of the submarine fiber industry and covers system owners, system suppliers and various market trends. This reporting details how the industry is focusing on trends and new technologies to increase efficiency and automation as a key strategy to reduce cost and maintain margins, and its impact on the demand for new offshore fiber systems. REGIONAL SYSTEMS: Drill down into the Regional Systems market, including focused analysis on the Transatlantic, Transpacific, EMEA, AustralAsia, Indian Ocean Pan-East Asian and Arctic regions. This reporting details the impact of increasing capacity demands on regional routes and contrasts potential overbuild concerns with the rapid pace of system development and the factors driving development demand. SUBMARINE CABLE DATASET: Details more than 450 fiber optic cable systems, including physical aspects, cost, owners, suppliers, landings, financiers, component manufacturers, marine contractors, etc. STF

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

ANALYTICS S

everal years ago, many worried about whether the submarine cable capacity would be able to grow in step with the increasing demand for capacity seen worldwide. The dramatic shift that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic really fueled the fire as countless businesses took to the internet in droves to stay afloat among other changes. The true impact of these changes can finally be seen in the numbers that are being released after two full years of global internet usage change. As we do every May, this issue is dedicated to the changes in capacity that we see regionally and internationally. The data used in this article is obtained from the public domain and is tracked by the regularly updated STF cable data base, where products like the Almanac, Online Cable Map, and Industry report all begin. What we have seen over the last several years is not only an increase in demand, but an extreme increase in the amount of global capacity. As new systems come into service and existing systems are upgraded, the upward trend continues to grow, and with companies like Ciena and Infinera leading the

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

BY REBECCA SPENCE

pack with unbelievable upgrade speeds, it is no surprise that even older cables are still able to meet demand. According to the FCC lit capacity report released in January 2022, the amount of lit capacity reported in 2020 was a 29 percent increase over 2019 in the Americas region, a 51 percent increase in the Atlantic and a 78 percent increase in the Pacific. Figure 1 shows the amount of capacity announced over the last 5 years. As of the end of 2021, we have seen a 56 percent increase over the capacity available 5 years ago. Over the last five years, EMEA has seen the most reported growth going from roughly 16 percent of the global total to 23 percent. IntraAsia and the Americas regions grew by a percentage point, while the TransPacific and TransAtlantic fell a few percentage points. While this may not seem like a lot, a percentage point here equals over 7,000 Gbps of capacity. The amount of planned capacity in set to continue its upward trend as systems like Equiano, Grace Hopper, Peace and 2Africa go into the water. Over the next year alone the amount

of capacity is set to increase roughly 25 percent. These three systems alone will add roughly 500 Gbps when completed. Overall, we are not likely to see as many systems taken out of service when they reach the typical 25 year life expectancy, as upgrades from companies like Ciena and Infinera bring better options to the table. Upgrades like the ability to add terabytes to a system’s capacity or the ability of a service provider to switch the signal as needed to meet their customer’s demand. If covid taught the submarine cable industry anything, it is how truly necessary we are to the continued progress made in virtually any business around the world. If we keep our eyes on the horizon and continue to evolve our technology and system designs, we can not just meet the demand, but outdo it. STF REBECCA SPENCE is the Project Manager from Submarine Telecoms Forum. Rebecca possessed more than 10 years’ experience as an analyst and database manager, including for the small business division of prominent government contractor, General Dynamics IT. She is a regular contributor to SubTel Forum Magazine and is based out of Hillsborough, North Carolina USA.

SUBTEL CABLE MAP UPDATES

he SubTel Online Cable Map is built with the industry standard Esri ArcGIS platform and linked to the SubTel Forum Submarine Cable Database. It tracks the progress of over 500 current and planned cable systems, 45+ cable ships and over 1,400 landing points. Systems are also linked to SubTel Forum’s News Now Feed, allowing viewing of current and archived new details. This interactive map is a continual work in progress and is updated on a weekly basis. With pertinent data captured by analysts at SubTel Forum and feedback from our users. Our goal is to make easilty available not only data from the Sbmarine Cable Almanac, but also more and more new layers of system information. If you are the point of contact for a system or involved company, please reach out and let us know if there are any changes or updates in your system! We strive to keep the map as up to date as possible for our users. We hope you

ADDED TO MAP

Chile Antarctica G2A Gondwana 2 and Picot 2

UPDATED SYSTEMS

EMIC-1 Arsinoe Havhingsten-CC-2 Havhingsten-NSC

continue to make use of the SubTel Cable Map to learn more about the industry yourself and educate others on the importance of submarine cable systems. Please feel free to reach out to our Project Manager, Rebecca Spence, should yo u have any questions, comments, or updates at repsnce@subtelforum.com STF REBECCA SPENCE is the Project Manager from Submarine Telecoms Forum. Rebecca possessed more than 10 years’ experience as an analyst and database manager, including for the small business division of prominent government contractor, General Dynamics IT. She is a regular contributor to SubTel Forum Magazine and is based out of Hillsborough, North Carolina USA.

IAX North Sea Connect OAC Paniolo Peace

SX Next TNG Intra Asia

SUBTELFORUM.COM/CABLEMAP MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THOSE PESKY CABLESHIPS? BY REBECCA SPENCE

ongratulations to all the crew and team members who were able to celebrate the completion of Southern Cross NEXT wet plant at the beginning of May! It has been a long road and Provisional Acceptance has finally arrived! The final branching unit and final splices were accomplished by the Ile de Sein and Ile de Re over the last couple months, which accounts for a large majority of the tracking data coming from the South Pacific since March. The Rene Descartes also accounted for activity in the South Pacific as it worked to install Picot 2 in New Caledonia. Several regions saw a decrease in activity since March as Activity

Figure 1: Rene Descartes landing Picot 2 in New Caledonia

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

in the Americas increased to 21 percent from 16 percent. EMEA decreased from 46 percent to 43 percent, AustralAsia fell from 27 percent to 18, and the Transpacific decreased from 10 percent to 7 percent. The wet plants of 2Africa (also known as SHARP by Vodafone), Equiano, and Peace have kept the EMEA region bustling with activity. With the exception of Equiano which seems to be about halfway through wet plant based on the number of landings it has completed, several systems will continue to announce landings around the continent and continue the trend seen with Africa as a focal point of subsea cable installation activity over the coming months. Another congratulations is due to Global Marine who received a Platinum level award by the UK Met office. According to their announcement in Early April, the award for their submarine cable installation vessel the Cable Retriev-

er, was in recognition of the high standard of weather observations undertaken voluntarily at sea last year. In cableship fleet news, the Ile de Molene went back into the water after the Remontowa Shiprepair Yard completed the dock works for her rebuild. ASN announced her addition to their cableship fleet in June of 2021, and the transformation is almost complete, so keep an eye out for an announcement by ASN! Reach out if you have cableship news to share or tag us on social media @subtelforum! Until next time, stay safe! STF REBECCA SPENCE is the Project Manager from Submarine Telecoms Forum. Rebecca possessed more than 10 years’ experience as an analyst and database manager, including for the small business division of prominent government contractor, General Dynamics IT. She is a regular contributor to SubTel Forum Magazine and is based out of Hillsborough, North Carolina USA.

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

sustainable SUBSEA FLYING THE SKIES TO WIRE THE SEAS Should the Subsea Cable Industry Stop Traveling? BY NICOLE STAROSIELSKI, IAGO BOJCZUK AND ANNE PASEK

espite its oceanic roots, the subsea cable industry has long been dependent on the sky. Since the golden era of commercial and civil aviation in the 1960s and 70s, the industry has relied on air travel to develop cross-border partnerships and penetrate global markets. Before that, workers traveled around the world via ship to implement and operate submarine infrastructures. By the 2000s, travel had escalated to include dozens of global events and conferences each year. Then, COVID-19 hit and the subsea workforce was grounded. As was true in many industries, companies developed new forms of remote collaboration at all levels of a project–from research to installation. Operators figured out how to run their networks without travel. Projects such as Dunant, Jupiter, JGA, NO-UK, EllaLink, and a myriad of regional cables were all carried to completion. These cable networks in turn strengthened the ability of people around the world to conduct work remotely—a change that is now the “new normal.” As part of these changes to world tourism, work practices, and industry operations, global passenger traffic fell around 30% between 2019 and 2022 (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2022). This transition generated substantial positive environmental effects. Air transportation makes up between 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions; roughly on par with the ICT sector overall. Cutting air travel

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

makes a significant dent in the subsea network’s carbon footprint. And by reducing other industries’ reliance on air travel, subsea cables indirectly contribute to those industries’ own ability to lessen their carbon footprint. At the same time, companies have saved a considerable amount of money in travel budgets. Concerns about oil prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine have only intensified the question: should the industry continue to travel at pre-COVID levels? Or should we embrace the new normal, with all of its ecological and financial benefits? Or, will there be some intermediate compromise, which is accepted as effective and also efficient both from a business and environmental standpoint?

For this month’s Sustainable Subsea column, brought to you by the SubOptic Foundation’s Sustainable Subsea Networks research project, we tackle these questions. We interviewed leaders in the industry, surveyed research conducted on this topic, and tracked decisions being made at senior levels. Although remote work is here to stay—with all of its green dividends—we were consistently reminded that there is also an intractable “in-person” aspect critical to the subsea cable industry. One of the reasons that a global transition to remote meetings could happen was precisely due to the smooth performance of the subsea network. In turn, the transition to remote operations went relatively

smoothly for the subsea industry because video conferencing connected an already close-knit community of individuals and companies, with well-established relationships that have been in place for many years. This community is global in scope, mission-oriented to connecting the world, accustomed to having to work across differences, and committed to serving clients. While the shift to remote went well because of subsea’s community, such a community remains very difficult to develop and maintain without traditional in-person interactions. It turns out, for one of the very industries that enables remote work itself, travel paradoxically remains part of the social fabric that binds the network together.

SUBSEA ADAPTS TO THE “NEW NORMAL”

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsea industry quickly adapted to remote work. Companies signed up for the premium versions of video platforms, and created novel internal policies and etiquette regarding remote work, meeting challenges to ongoing projects and commercial goals. Coordination meetings continued in online formats across all sectors of the subsea cable industry—from research to supply chain management. For many, travel and jet lag challenges were replaced by a need to balance time zones across oceans—meaning that very early or very late calls became a norm. In many ways, what happened in the industry is indicative of a broader global trend. Research covering data traffic patterns shows that one year after the first lockdown in 2020, the aggregated data traffic volume had increased by around 40%. Applications for remote work that rely on video conferencing had increased

beyond 200% (Feldmann et al., 2021). The significance of these platforms has been documented in reports by international organizations, which emphasize the positive aspects of quick adaptation, recovery, and human resilience enabled by an increasingly digitized world (International Telecommunication Union, 2021). This shift to remote work, however, is not entirely new or COVID-related. In space-related research and multi-stakeholder science consortia, for example, remote synchronous meetings have long taken place, though on a much smaller scale and with a specific niche of researchers in ultra-specialized topics. For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier conducted joint-research on gene technology for about nine years while living thousands of kilometers apart, using extensive email, Skype, and Dropbox to connect through the Atlantic (Krämer, 2021). Another ocean-spanning project, the Event

Horizon Telescope (ETH), composed of a global network of radio telescopes in places as diverse as the Atacama Desert in Chile, the South Pole in Antarctica, Moune Kea in Hawaii, and Sierra Nevada in Spain, and which revealed the first image of a supermassive black hole in 2019, was made possible by daily exchanges of data and video between astronomers, engineers, and computer scientists (Murchikova, 2019). For these and other collaborations in science and technology, remote work has long been critical. Similarly, synchronous video platforms had been in use in the ICT and telecom industries since the early years of the Internet, though not as widely across the board as they are today. Even in the cable industry, teleconferencing has been present for decades. In Cable & Wireless in the mid 1990s, for example, employees utilized basic video conferencing to coordinate cable interests around the world. John Tibbles, an adviser to the SubOptic Foundation, recallMAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

sustainable SUBSEA ing this period, observed that one of the reasons it was so effective was “because we all worked for the same company, we all knew each other well.” The teams connected were not simply British but encompassed locally-based staff in the Caribbean, Hong Kong and Japan, among other sites. And in the years before the pandemic, there had been evolutions for remote provisioning of equipment on the end of a cable—enabling local teams to get support from a remote technical team rather than always flying someone out to a site. The accelerated uptake of video conferencing during the pandemic brought some major benefits to the subsea industry. People recognized that a contract could still get signed and a project delivered from scratch via platforms such as Zoom and Teams, despite their limitations. From a commercial standpoint, this revealed an enormous financial savings from cutting in-person travel. Moreover, while many in the industry certainly enjoyed some aspects of a travel-intense career, others had found it challenging to balance with other commitments. Any given month, it was common for many industry workers to spend two to three weeks away from home. Even with the Cable & Wireless video conferencing technology, Tibbles noted that extensive travel was still the norm and being away from home was not always easy throughout one’s career: “Looking back a good many of us would have been happy with some virtual substitute for the less important meetings, leaving for Singapore on a winter night leaving behind two small children.” Virtual interactions have indeed helped alleviate some of the health, family, and personal stresses involved

SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE

with air travel, while also freeing up time for additional work. Elaine Stafford, a Managing Partner at DRG Undersea Consulting, said that while she enjoys traveling and meeting people face-to-face, she appreciates having the opportunity to be home more now. “I don’t see a compelling need for all of the travel we had in the past, nor do I look forward to potentially returning to that paradigm,” she says. “I think many of us can see the possibility of a more optimal and equally-effective balance between online meetings and face-to-face meetings for a reasonable portion of those get-togethers which historically de facto required hopping on a plane.” And, of course, remote work brings with it major potential environmental benefits. See Figure 1 for an estimate of the carbon emissions savings of a single consortium system. This hypothetical project—using partial videoconference substitution—avoided emissions roughly equivalent to 154 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year, or 792,522 tons of coal burned. Aviation is a great place to cut emissions since, unlike network infrastructures, it cannot be decarbonized through a switch to greener electricity. Because of trade-offs in energy potential and weight in battery technologies, it is unlikely that electric aircraft will ever be viable for more than short-haul flights. Transoceanic travel requires the energy density of liquid fuels. Overwhelmingly, this means fossil fuels. Sustainable biofuels are currently uneconomic and marginal, making up less than 0.01% of the sector’s use in 2018. It is also the case that sustainable fuels cannot be dramatically scaled up without significant land use conflicts. These environmental concerns are made all the more acute by the aviation sector’s

exclusion from the Paris Agreement, and by the continued annual growth of its carbon footprint (the early months of the pandemic excepted). It’s also the case that air travel emissions have a greater impact than terrestrial ones. Interactions between planes, jet fuel pollutants, and atmospheric conditions frequently lead to the formation of contrails and other meteorological phenomena that significantly increase the effects of global warming. While there is still scientific uncertainty on the precise conditions and impacts produced by a variety of aviation conditions, conservative estimates put the overall impact of these factors at 2 to 4 times the total amount of the sector’s CO2 emissions. In other words, the problem is at least twice as bad as it first appears. Aviation, as a whole, looks to be stuck without legible and credible pathways out of its climate impacts. It will likely continue to be a climate problem long after other sectors have achieved their mitigation goals. For these reasons, a growing movement of climate advocates have singled out air travel as a uniquely important site of personal and collective climate action. From Greta Thunberg’s famous transatlantic boat travel, to No Fly Cli Sci and the Flying Less Movement in academia more broadly, concerned groups have aspired to reduce air travel in professional and advocacy contexts long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many positive effects of remote work, cutting in-person travel generates a significant carbon reduction for the industry.

THE LIMITS OF REMOTE WORK AND THE ENDURING SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE SUBSEA INDUSTRY

Things are not so simple, however. Not everyone agrees that remote

work is all that efficient. Synchronous video and audio do not necessarily mean effective use of time. Rajesh Kheny, Lead in Global Program Management - Submarine Cable at Meta, contends that a face-to-face straight week of meetings can be very productive compared to a series of video conference calls. Being “locked in a room somehow forces outcomes,” he says. The level of persuasion in corporate decisions, as well as in sealing deals or deciding on operations or long-term views for a project, takes a different shape when people are together. In other words, the achievement of goals are heavily dependent on social dynamics; and disrupting social dynamics can disrupt project goals. On a similar note, “if everyone is in the same room for one or two days, knowing that we shouldn’t part ways until the issue is resolved, focused discussions drive towards a

conclusion much more effectively,” said Paul Gabla, VP Sales & Marketing of Alcatel Submarine Networks. lls can not only limit participants’ attention span but also make everyone feel tired—though it is debatable that attending meetings with jetlag has a similar effect. Beyond the cable industry, studies have shown how home office practices are actually making employees work longer hours than before, and sometimes make it difficult for employees to deal with work-life boundaries and their mental health (American Psychiatric Association, 2021). While such limitations to remote work might be true in all business contexts, the subsea cable industry is uniquely dependent on in-person work. In this relatively small world, people work together across fields ranging from engineering, to marine science, to marketing. They coordinate across national contexts, speak different lan-

guages and are immersed in different cultures. They work together, even with competitors, to try to connect people around the world. Launching a cable project requires working across all of these differences—and having smooth and effective communication amongst a project team. As a result, an essential part of the industry is knowing one another. This mutual understanding—a social fabric of the cable industry—has been solidified over decades as people work on different projects together. Stafford notes: “I think if our industry had not had such close relationships pre-established, progress during COVID would have been far more difficult.” From meetings with stakeholders to attending global conferences to share knowledge, international travel has been the foundation for this community. As described by one industry consultant, “social interactions are very

Figure 1. Carbon Emissions Savings Calculator Planning & Development

JBA & Procurement

Construction

Total

Period (Months)

Meeting Frequency (btwn mtgs)

1.5

4.5

Number of Meetings

Avg # of Participants Traveling/Mtg

Avg # of Participants Traveling/Project

144

216

360

720

% of Meetings Possible via Zoom

80%

90%

30%

# of Individual Trips Saved w/Zoom

115.2

194.4

108

Average Distance Traveled per Individual Trip (km)*

4000

Total Air Travel Distance Avoided (km)

460800

777600

432000

1670400

Carbon Savings per Project (kg CO2e) Δ

197600

333450

185250

716301

417.6

NOTES ~ Estimates assume a large-scale consortium system. * Average air travel distance is assumed to be a mid-length international flight. 4,000km was selected as a fair estimate—roughly the distance between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Please alter project travel distances for a more accurate assessment. Δ Conversion factors are taken from the 2021 UK Government’s GHG Conversion factors, inclusive of radiative forcing and presuming business class travel.

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

sustainable SUBSEA important to the putting-the-project-together stage and pushing the terms and details of its execution over time and across geographies.” We found when speaking to people that in-person connections at times fostered a sense of loyalty to a cable project even above the company an individual worked for, which in turn would actually facilitate a company’s long-term success. Long-standing relationships could present opportunities to join new consortia contracts or expand overall commercial operations. At the end of the day, says Kristian Nielsen, Quality & Fulfillment Director at WFN Strategies, “it’s still an in-person industry.” Remote work has been particularly successful for the industry because it rests on pre-formed in-person connections, but it is also particularly challenging, since informal relationships cannot develop over the phone or video conference in the same way. Gabla, for example, points out that business relationships in the industry rely heavily on social relationships. “It’s all the untold feelings and non-verbal cues that one misses totally over the phone, partially over video-based platforms,” he says. Especially for negotiations in advancing subsea cable projects, there are common situations in which video and audio do not capture the nuances of the moment, particularly when there are different socio-cultural practices and diverging commercial strategies or visions involved, let alone vastly different timezones. “When we do a virtual meeting,” Mohamed Eldahshory, Director of Global Projects and Submarine Cable Development at Telecom Egypt observes, “we face a lot of misunderstandings.” The potential for miscommunication can

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be heightened the more cultures or different stakeholders there are at the table. Some people might know each other—some might not. “In our industry, there is lobbying that needs to happen inside the consortium,”one interviewee describes, “Bilateral meetings need to take place.” Video conferencing sets limits on the way the conversation can take shape and affect who may or may not dominate the direction of the meeting. Another interviewee describes how one project he was working on “almost went completely off the rails” due to miscommunication via Zoom. This is not only a problem of different languages. As one of our interviewees summed up: we must remember that “English is many languages, not just one.” A striking example of a project that brings together a wide range of companies and cultures is SEA-MEWE 6, which links all the way from Southeast Asia to Western Europe via the Middle East. This project was delayed during COVID-19, in part due to the inability for the

consortium’s many members to meet in-person. Video conferencing solidified gaps in cultural and linguistic communication, and coupled with time zone differences, solutions to the regular challenges of cable planning were much more difficult to find. Eldahshory, who was involved in the cable’s construction, offers his take: “four virtual meetings equate to one physical meeting.” Another interviewee volunteered a different formula: the chance of success of a remote meeting is inversely related to the number of cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences between parties. To sum up, the reality is that there are aspects of a cable system planning and implementation are difficult to maintain in a travel-free way of collaborating, and this is particularly intense when no community exists— or when community and connections need to be formed across geographies and cultures. Given these constraints in building community and the expectations around the delivery of a project, it is likely that face-to-face

meetings will likely never go away in their entirety—and to do so would be to shift some of the unique practices at the heart of the cable industry. Moreover, the amount of miles traveled in cable planning is a tiny fraction of the airmiles saved by the projects that are developed.

IN CONCLUSION: IT DEPENDS

In our many interviews, we found that—specifically for the cable industry—the decision whether to travel or not is highly dependent on context. In short, it depends on what stage of the process the project is at; the particular people in the room; and the degree to which people already know each other and the social fabric is in place. “The inherent need to meet face-to-face will likely never go away in its entirety,” Rajesh Kheny tells us, “it will just be prudent to think through and replan with the question: if we managed somewhat successfully remotely, can we continue to manage that way since it helps those who don’t like traveling and those who like a decent work-life balance to manage effectively and indirectly result in cost savings as a benefit.” For example, from a management standpoint, it is likely that a latestage project-related remote meeting might not have a terribly negative impact on delivering a cable system. However, that is not the case necessarily for other parts of a cable project entailing teams in marine, CLS, and network installations, who often heavily rely upon on-site visits and meeting with stakeholders at the early stages of a project. Our interviewees noted that cables with a single purchaser might be more likely to be more successful via remote work, in part because of the shared corporate

culture and limited need for discussion, than meetings with many parties across nations. Getting new business, our study participants reiterated, was one of the more difficult things to achieve via video conference. To an extent, more effective management practices around “new normal” work practices also depends on age group. “Young people are preferring the ease of flexibility that comes with video calls while the older generation much prefers the advantages that come with face-to-face interactions,” says Felix Seda, General Manager for NJFX. The younger generation is more accustomed to using break out rooms for discussions and chatbox for opinion sharing or informal responses to what’s being discussed live. For the veterans of the industry, community has been formed more actively in-person, over a set of drinks or on the golf course. And yet, as another industry member points out, “in an era where we need to infuse ‘new blood’ into our industry, in-person meetings have a sort of Onthe -Job-Training benefits for new industry entrants as trainees.” When it comes down to it, the medium doesn’t alone determine success, solve a problem, create a problem, or create a community—people do. Be it face-to-face or via video conferencing platforms, many of our industry interviewees pointed out, humans tend to bring their habits and energy from one medium to another. For those that would like to calculate the emissions saved by a transition to remote meetings, visit our website for a copy of our Carbon Emissions Savings Calculator. This article is an output from a SubOptic Foundation project funded by the Internet Society Foundation. STF

NICOLE STAROSIELSKI is Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU. Dr. Starosielski’s research focuses on the history of the cable industry and the social aspects of submarine cable construction and maintenance. She is author of The Undersea Network (2015), which examines the cultural and environmental dimensions of transoceanic cable systems, beginning with the telegraph cables that formed the first global communications network and extending to the fiber-optic infrastructure. Starosielski has published over forty essays and is author or editor of five books on media, communications technology, and the environment. She is co-convener of SubOptic’s Global Citizen Working Group and a principal investigator on the SubOptic Foundation’s Sustainable Subsea Networks research initiative. IAGO BOJCZUK is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, where his work investigates the material, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of Big Tech infrastructures in the Global South. ANNE PASEK is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Media, Culture, and the Environment at Trent University’s Department of Cultural Studies and School of the Environment. Her work explores the technical and social challenges of climate communication, particularly regarding carbon. REFERENCES International Civil Aviation Organization. 2022. “Effects of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Civil Aviation: Economic Impact Analysis.” https://www.icao.int/sustainability/ Documents/Covid-19/ICAO_coronavirus_Econ_Impact.pdf. Feldmann et al. 2021. “A Year in Lockdown: How the Waves of COVID-19 Impact Internet Traffic.” Communications of the ACM 64.7: 101-108. https://cacm.acm.org/ magazines/2021/7/253468-a-year-in-lockdown/fulltext International Telecommunication Union. 2021. “Pandemic in the Internet age: From second wave to new normal, recovery, adaptation.” https://www.itu.int/hub/ publication/D-PREF-EF.PANDEMIC_01-2021/ Krämer, K. 2021. “How CRISPR went from Niche to Nobel.” Chemistry World. https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/ how-crispr-went-from-niche-to-nobel/4012604.article Murchikova, E. 2019. “How the Event Horizon Telescope Showed Us a Black Hole.” Institute for Advanced Study. https://www.ias.edu/ideas/murchikova-eht-black-hole American Psychiatric Association. 2021. “APA 2021 Public Opinion Poll: Workplace.” https://www.psychiatry.org/ newsroom/apa-public-opinion-poll-2021-workplace

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FEATURE

7 QUESTIONS WITH LAURIE MILLER Talking Technology Trends With Southern Cross’s President and Chief Executive Officer

WHAT IS SOUTHERN CROSS’S MISSION?

Southern Cross’s mission is to “Enable connectivity and support social development across the region through high quality products and solutions that people can depend on”. Incumbent in that is the typical things that you would hope a modern socially aware organization tries to achieve. We want to be a pro-active, supportive and fundamentally awesome employer. We have a very small team as companies go, and as such our people and relationships are critical, and so our support and growth of those people and relationships is our number one priority. We aim to be aware and responsible with regards to community and environment, and our affects upon it, with a view of making long lasting positive contributions. From a customer and industry viewpoint we aim to be recognized as the submarine cable operator of choice in the Trans-Pacific region with performance and innovation that others strive to emulate, committed to the development and support of broadband in the regions we operate in.

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In practice this means that Southern Cross strives to have a positive impact on customers, our team, society and to be great financial stewards for our shareholders.

HOW DOES SOUTHERN CROSS PARTICIPATE IN THE SUBMARINE CABLE MARKET?

Southern Cross as a company has been operating for over 20 years, and with our new Southern Cross NEXT system (NEXT) will operate a meshed network ‘eco-system’ comprising three cables connecting Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii the United States West Coast and also Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati. In total, the Southern Cross eco-system is almost 45,000km in length and has an aggregate design capacity of circa 100 Tbps. Customers are currently able to access the Southern Cross eco-system from Points of Presence in Sydney, Los Angeles, San Jose, Palo Alto, Seattle and sites in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Besides operating cable systems, we also positively engage and support the submarine cable industry and

participants, through various other technical activities and engagement in industry bodies such as ICPC, OSCA, SubOptic, PTC and many more as well as business and community engagement support, marketing and business support to customers, and so on.

IS SOUTHERN CROSS CURRENTLY INVOLVED WITH MANY NEW SUBMARINE CABLE PROJECTS?

Southern Cross is currently finishing construction of our new Southern Cross NEXT cable. NEXT is a new 15,500km, four fibre pair, submarine cable system connecting Sydney to Los Angeles, with branches to New Zealand, Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati. Commissioning of the optical paths is happening currently, with Southern Cross NEXT scheduled to launch on 7 July 2022. Besides NEXT, and running our own two existing cables, we also provide various services to the TUI-Samoa, JGASouth, Gondwana and Indigo cable systems. Our landing in Fiji has also become an increasingly important pacific hubbing point, with connectivity to the Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa cables, along with the new Gondwana-2 cable also due for completion in the near future.

WHAT MAKES SOUTHERN CROSS UNIQUE IN THE SUBMARINE SYSTEM MARKET?

Southern Cross is unique in the international submarine capacity market as we are a stand-alone entity providing us the opportunity to operate as an independent, agile and innovative company, but also coupled with the fact that our shareholders are large financially secure companies with their own inherent underlying demand for capacity. This provides our customers with the independence and flexibility that they require from a provider, while also giving confidence in our viability as a long-term service provider and solutions partner.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF SOUTHERN CROSS’S SUCCESS?

Southern Cross has established its reputation over the last 20 years based on its people, and our strong focus on relationships, both with our customers and with the wider industry. As mentioned earlier, our team in quite small, but also very experienced whether it be in technical fields, finance or marketing … and it is this depth of experience and relationship with our relevant industry counterparts and customers that has enabled Southern Cross’ success over the years. While the team has deep experience we are also very

aware that we cannot do it alone. The Southern Cross NEXT project is a great example, where besides our own people we are also dependent on the considerable experience and support of our partners such as ASN, Ciena, Pioneer, Axiom, and DXN as well as that of the landing parties, government officials and even communities as a team to enable the project to particularly in the unforeseen times over the last couple of years. Again, a great testament to the Island communities that are part of the NEXT project and our relationships with them, could be seen in that many families chose to make home cooked meals for our people who were on island doing installation, in support and appreciation of their efforts. A seemingly simple thing, but one that came from a caring place and made a tough experience for our people who were away from home during COVID, having to undertake multiple quarantine periods, very much not only bearable but an enjoyable and memorable adventure.

AS SUSTAINABILITY HAS BECOME A HOT BUTTON ISSUE IN OUR INDUSTRY, WHAT ARE SOUTHERN CROSS’S PLANS FOR SUSTAINABLE OPERATION FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

As you say, sustainability has become a hot topic and I don’t think any company can simply ignore the impacts that they have on the environment and world at large. As an industry we face many challenges as some aspects remain out of a providers (such as Southern Cross’) direct control but will eventually be changed through work as an industry over time. More specifically though for Southern Cross, we have involved our leadership team working with environmental advisors to examine all of our business to identify key areas to reduce our carbon impact and are aiming to be carbon neutral with respect to our direct impacts within the next 5 years. Through our involvement in many of the industry groups mentioned earlier we are also seeking to have a positive influence through industry change. Southern Cross is also very aware of the significance of our role as an enabler for many other organisations to achieve their own sustainability goals. By operating efficiently, minimising outages and providing a consistent quality of service, we can support our customers, and their customers, to operate in a sustainable manner. We have initiated a process of biannual carbon footprint assessments to track our goals on carbon reduction initiatives, as well as a process of annual supplier surveys with respect to their initiatives and alignment with our Code of Ethics. MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE Southern Cross has also adopted several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) to ensure we are leaving the planet a better place for next generations, and recently won a PTC Award for our efforts in the Pacific.

WHAT IS NEXT FOR SOUTHERN CROSS?

Southern Cross NEXT cable system is ready for launch 7 July 2022. While the immediate focus is to embed the NEXT cable system within the Southern Cross eco-system, Southern Cross is actively evaluating opportunities to further develop the eco-system, business and support the growing and changing needs of our customers and the industry as part of our Vision 2031 strategy. Our strategy also includes plans to replace the other side of our system within the coming years. We always must have an eye looking over the horizon to remain relevant and meet the insatiable demand for capacity. We will continue to evaluate opportunities that fit

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with our mission and provide our customers with solutions and capacity on routes that are relevant and make sense for our business. Southern Cross has always been a niche player that has served its customers by delivering a highly reliable and often protected service. As customer needs and route requirements change, along with factors such as high fibre count cables, meshed networks and exponential capacity growth we continue to look at how we can provide new and better services and routes that meet these changing needs. All I can say is watch this space, as “NEXT is NOW”, we have actively started to look at “What’s NEXT?” STF LAURIE MILLER was appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer for Southern Cross Cable Network in February 2019. Prior to his role as President and CEO of Southern Cross, Laurie held key roles as Head of Wholesale and Interconnect in 2degrees Limited and as President and Country Manager in Sparks’ US operation Telecom New Zealand USA Limited. Laurie has an extensive background in management and sales and over a 27-year career in the International Telecommunications Industry starting with Telecom New Zealand in 1991.

FEATURE

GLOBAL CAPACITY: TRENDS, DRIVERS, ENABLERS AND DATA CENTERS BY KAUSHIK SENGUPTA

he submarine cable industry continues to see unprecedented growth. Looking at recent reports suggest that during the period 2022 – 2024, we could expect to see some ~$10bn of further investment in new subsea cables, with that growth coming from both established and emerging markets. Let’s take a look at some of the trends, drivers, and enablers behind these staggering numbers. Firstly, there is a growing trend for data centres to seek to ‘land’ submarine cables, rather than the traditional model of stand-alone cable landing stations feeding cables into the data centre ecosystem. With the subsea industry having been around for much longer than the data centre industry, there are a surprisingly significant number of similarities between the two, which, has led to a logical alignment. Both sectors are highly capital intensive. Constructing a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, high-quality data centre of a decent size (5–30MW ) normally costs between USD30 million and USD300 million. Building a state-of-the-art, multi TB submarine cable network that is several thousands

of kilometres in length requires a similar investment. Both sectors have long lead times. Data centres have lead times of 1–2 years, while cable projects take 1–4 years or longer. Proper capacity planning is required to start building ahead of demand in both cases, be it subsea cables or data centres. Consequently, we are seeing a great deal of alignment in the planning stages of subsea projects with slated data centre builds. There is always going to be growing demand in such a fast-changing environment. The demand for digital services supported by submarine cables and consequently data centre infrastructure, is growing quickly as evidenced by almost daily announcements of new data centre projects, in all corners of the globe. This also includes the emergence of edge data centres, which in many cases are perfect to ‘double up’ and act as cable landing sites for subsea cables, given that in most instances subsea cables typically land in locations that aren’t necessarily highly populous city centres, but do lend themselves to edge-type facilities. Disruptive technological innovation continues unabated. MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE

The technologies used for submarine cables built in 2021 are considerably improved compared to those used for submarine cables built at the turn of the century. In many ways, you could argue that Shannon’s law limit is looming and will be the next big challenge to overcome. Who remembers the last time something less than a 10G service was activated on a subsea route? Similarly, there have been considerable technological evolutions in the data centre space to push the power usage efficiency (PUE) ratio close to 1, while increasing the density and evolving architecture. Unit economics continue improving in both industries. Many submarine cables were initially funded and deployed by telecoms operators, as were many data centres (though there were also non-operator providers). Hyperscalers have now entered both sectors in a major way. Hyperscaler’s first built their own data centres and are now building their ownsubsea cable networks. Subsea cables and data centres are a natural fit and it is certainly a trend we won’t see diminishing in the foreseeable future. One thing to ponder though, is the cyclical nature of

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all things technology related. In recent history, there have been periods during which there was a relative over-supply of submarine cable capacity. This held back investment into new submarine cable systems for a period in the early 2000’s, even though the demand for submarine cable capacity continued to grow. It is not yet clear if the data centre industry will go through the same cycle in coming years on the back of further efficiency in power usage and the growing evolution from an environment of hardware to one of connectivity. So, with this highly focussed alignment between subsea cables and data centres, what can we expect to see from the subsea industry in terms of routes and markets in the near term? We could break this down into three key categories. Firstly, hyperscale – where are the new global ‘hotspots’ based on cloud regions, secondly, emerging trend of building edge facilities in tier two cities/markets and finally, resiliency to support the entire ecosystem. From a hyperscale perspective, two markets to watch over the next couple of years are India and east Asia, where approximately 40% of all data centre developments are happening or are slated to happen. Of this 40%, approximately 60% is geared towards wholesale activity, Vs. retail. By comparison, Europe accounts for approximately 25% new data centre developments, with most of this investment geared towards retail markets and the bolstering &

From a hyperscale perspective, two markets to watch over the next couple of years are India and east Asia, where approximately 40% of all data centre developments are happening or are slated to happen.

expansion of existing infrastructure in well-established markets. So, let’s follow the activity and look at the implications for the subsea market in this context. India is currently a focus area for both hyperscale data centre development and subsea developers with a multitude of new builds planned to land on both coasts, providing onward connectivity to the east towards Europe and west towards Singapore and beyond. This is driving some ‘new’ thinking about resiliency and single points of failure between Europe and Asia and is reflected in the new routes being contemplated on what has historically been a very traditional path – Singapore – India – Egypt – Marseilles

Currently, there are no less than three new builds under consideration which aim to bypass Egypt, which is considered the ‘traditional’ routing on this path between Europe and Asia. We are now seeing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia coming into play in a much more meaningful way, with cables looking to traverse the Kingdom north – south, cutting through Israel and Jordan and then onwards to Italy and the FLAP countries, consequently, taking Egypt out of play. This achieves a couple of objectives, namely bypassing what is a massive bottleneck of cables at the northern end of the Red Sea whilst also reducing cost associated with Egypt crossing fees. It’s a very unique route and we are highly confident it will be very popular. Whilst contemplating the Europe to Asia route, the challenge still remains between India and Singapore. The Malacca Strait is also coming into sharp focus as a narrow stretch of water which represents risk for cables between India and Singapore. We anticipate that developers will look to bifurcate risk by capitalizing on the new trend of edge data centre establishment in tier two cities. Possible routing solutions to minimize the risk of the Malacca Strait exist, such as landing further north in Thailand, in a tier two city such as HatYai which has an evolving edge landscape given its proximity to the Malaysian border, and the coming down to Singapore terrestrially or via the Gulf of Thailand. Similarly, we are seeing massive development and spending on ‘new’ routes between the US and Asia which is in a not dissimilar situation to the Europe – Asia path. If we look at the traditional routing between Asia and the US, realistically, there have always just been two options. Firstly, Hongkong to the US via the Luzon, or Singapore – Hongkong – Japan – US. As with Asia – Europe cables being planned which bypass Egypt, we are now seeing systems on this Pacific route going directly into Singapore from the US, routed south of the Philippines. There are at least three significant builds to be announced on this path, bringing with it new opportunity for data centre development in markets such as the Philippines, Guam, Indonesia and surprisingly, Darwin in Australia. On both traditional paths discussed, (Europe – Asia) and (US – Asia) are in a state of evolution from a routing perspective. India’s economic growth as a nation and avoidance of routing risk are both two key drivers, whilst hyperscale

and edge data centre development are the enablers for the subsea development on both paths mentioned within. The data centre trend towards edge facilities provides greater flexibility for the subsea industry in terms of routing, offering up new options for landing subsea cables which ultimately, provides for a global fabric which is much more resilient than it ever has been - and it needs to be. Our subsea cables underpin everything digital. As an industry, we need to cater for the exponential demand from a global population that is hungry for digital and cloud services, be it consumer, enterprise, or governments. Some of the key drivers that will underpin the industry, be it storage or connectivity as we move into the middle of this decade include the Internet of Things which is predicated to see some 150bn devices connected by 2030. Artificial Intelligence is also continuing to see unparalleled growth, leading to great changes in industry, communication, transportation, education, energy, health care, entertainment, government, warfare, communication and research. Industry 4.0 is also a consideration, particularly in emerging markets. Finally, quantum distributed computing or cluster computing also offers great opportunity for the subsea space. At a more fundamental level, one only has to look at smartphone traffic growth to get a sense of the immense anticipated growth in digital services that is coming. Total global mobile data traffic was around 65Eb per month at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow by a factor of around 4.4 to reach 288Eb per month in 2027. Sure, not much of this traffic will directly traverse subsea cables, but most certainly at an ‘infrastructure’ level, there will be massive M2M traffic flows across subsea cables between servers on a global scale to underpin all of this activity. Again, it’s all about subsea working in concert with data centres to address the demands of a digital hungry global population. The opportunity for continued growth knows no bounds. STF

As an industry, we need to cater for the exponential demand from a global population that is hungry for digital and cloud services, be it consumer, enterprise, or governments.

KAUSHIK SENGUPTA is Senior Vice President of APTelecom. Kaushik is an integral part of the APTelecom team, supporting business growth in India and southeast Asian markets. With over 25 years experience in the wholesale telecoms industry to leverage off, Kaushik supports APTelecom’s clients in the areas of Submarine Cable, Satellite Services and Managed Services, including network consultancy, cloud computing and IoT.

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FEATURE

AFRICA’S DIGITAL BACKBONE BY CHRIS WOOD

Africa, like much of the world, is experiencing significant and sustained growth in the availability and use of connected devices, apps and content, increasingly via 4G/5G networks and other new communications technologies.

idespread access to secure, reliable and affordable internet is fundamental to the digitisation of economies and businesses throughout Africa, which promises to deliver enhanced economic growth, innovation in business, job creation and other improvements to the daily lives of its population. Progress is being made at a rapid pace, driven by a range of contributory factors that include Africa’s rapidly growing population - its youth population in particular; the increasing affordability and usage of mobile phones; regulatory initiatives to encourage competition, driving cheaper and more accessible services; and greater investment in both terrestrial and subsea infrastructure to increase bandwidth availability and reduce delivery costs. • Africa’s population: 1.4 billion1 • By 2050, Africa’s population is forecast to grow by 80% (to nearly 2.5 billion2) • Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africans under the age of 303

1 Statista, 2022 2 Statista, 2022 3 United Nations, 2021

4 Internet World Stats, 2021 5 Internet World Stats, 2021 6 Internet World Stats, 2021

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• In 2021, Africa had 601.6 million4 internet users and an internet penetration rate of just 43.1%5 - compared to 66.2%6 for the world as a whole

and resilience to fully deliver the benefits throughout the continent.

MORE INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY - A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IMPERATIVE

as Facebook, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and Google is exploding. As of December 2020, for example, there were more than 230 million Facebook subscribers in Africa7, up from 170 million in 2017 and just 50 million in 2013. The Internet of Things (IOT) is just starting to impact many industries, with new technologies enabling autonomous drones (eg. for aerial mapping and delivery services) and remotely operated security cameras; and new services such as remote health, automated factory management and logistics tracking now being deployed. All are reliant upon the availability of reliable, high-capacity, low latency internet connectivity. When you add in the roll-out of 5G, the ongoing and widespread migration of businesses to cloud-based solutions and the large numbers of people continuing to work from home (in response to COVID-19), the opportunities for businesses involved in delivering connectivity are immense. However, for consumers and businesses in Africa to be able to take advantage of these new capabilities, Africa needs a strong digital backbone with the capacity, reach

The construction of a truly fit-for-purpose digital backbone for Africa is critically dependent upon the availability of sufficient international bandwidth, on multiple subsea cables and landing in multiple locations the length of the continent’s coastline. Continued growth in mobile phone ownership throughout the continent, together with exploding use of bandwidth-hungry services and applications is driving demand for ever more international capacity - needed to reach cloud-based content, services and applications. At the same time, global cloud operators and content providers are investing in international capacity to migrate their content into Africa, to deliver an improved end-user experience for consumers. As a result, demand for capacity on existing subsea cables serving Africa – including EASSy, WACS and Seacom – has been unprecedented, with multi-100 Gigabit per second (Gbps) solutions no longer the exception; and multiple subsea (and terrestrial backhaul) systems being employed to maximise service resilience. Subsea cable owners have responded by upgrading existing systems to add more capacity. However, it is clear that a further round of investment must be made in new subsea systems if Africa is to secure the huge increase in subsea inventory needed to meet the future demands of the continent. New systems also offer the potential to increase reliability through new routes and new landing points on the continent, and opportunities to deliver cost-efficiencies through purchasing at scale and landing in open access DCs. The desire to secure greater and more easily scalable capacity at lower unit cost is what has driven the development, design and ongoing deployment of both Google’s Equiano cable and the Facebook-led 2Africa system. These two cables – scheduled to be in service by end 2022 and end-2023/4 respectively – will each add more than 100 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity to Africa’s international capacity inventory. Leading African wholesale capacity provider, WIOCC, has purchased a fibre pair on both systems to extend its strategic investment in hyperscale inventory across multiple systems and expand its ability to offer clients the resilient, high-capacity, pan-African international connectivity they require over its unique hyperscale network.

7 DataReportal.com, 2022

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FEATURE EQUIANO CABLE BOX-OUT

The 144Tbps capacity, 12,000+km Equiano cable runs from Portugal along Africa’s western coastline to South Africa. WIOCC and Google partnered to land the entire cable directly into WIOCC Group company Open Access Data Centre (OADC)’s carrier-neutral data centre (DC) in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing roughly 20 times more international capacity than any other submarine cable previously serving the region.

2AFRICA CABLE BOX-OUT

When completed, the 45,000+km 2Africa cable will be the longest subsea cable system in the world, will significantly improve connectivity within Africa and will increase connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world. It has a design capacity of 180Tbps and once complete will interconnect 33 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In Amanzimtoti, South Africa the cable will be landed directly into OADC’s Durban DC.

WIOCC network globe map – with Equiano and 2Africa cables emboldened

BRIDGING CONNECTIVITY GAPS – EXTENDING INLAND

WIOCC’s position as a Landing Station Partner for both the Equiano and 2Africa cables is crucial to making increased international connectivity available beyond the immediate locality of the landing stations, via national, metro and local networks. Landing subsea cables directly into carrier-neutral, open-access DCs encourages unhindered and cost-effective onward terrestrial connection to other networks, DCs, internet exchange points (IXPs) and customer sites, supporting Government initiatives to increase broadband coverage by extending the benefits of the improved connectivity to a greater proportion of the population. WIOCC is continuing to extend and expand its pan-African hyperscale network in multiple countries, enhancing its national and metro fibre networks to support local operators in delivering hyperscale capacity to end-users.

RAPID GROWTH IN DATA CENTRE DEMAND

Data centres are another critical element in the digitisation of Africa, with demand for such facilities in Africa growing rapidly. The largest markets are populated with

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WIOCC’s connectivity in West Africa close-up – clearly showing Equiano and 2Africa cables, plus others, and how WIOCC links them into its terrestrial network

multiple DCs supporting business cost-optimisation initiatives, the ongoing migration of services and applications into the cloud, and service providers’ wishes to extend network reach into new markets. The arrival of global cloud operators and content providers has also stimulated growth in the African DC market, with a recent round of international investments, bringing

open-access facilities at key connectivity hubs throughout Africa fully connected into its largest network infrastructure, it will be possible to truly support the deployment aspirations of cloud operators, content providers, application providers, telecoms operators and other businesses, facilitating the creation of a vibrant, pan-African cloud ecosystem.

IMPROVING SOUTH AFRICA’S CONNECTIVITY: A SIGN OF WHAT IS TO COME

The clearest representation of this vision is WIOCC’s expanding infrastructure in South Africa; one of the continent’s most connected and most technologically advanced markets. WIOCC continues to make significant investments in multiple subsea systems serving the country, has built a national hyperscale backbone offering multiple high-capacity and diverse routes between WIOCC’s connectivity in Southern Africa close-up – clearly showing Equiano and 2Africa cables, plus others, major cities, owns Metro networks covering and how WIOCC links them into its terrestrial netw key business hubs and interconnecting multiple Points of Presence (PoPs) and is deploying, through WIOCC Group company global players such as Equinix and Digital Realty into Open Access Data Centres (OADC), a growing network of Africa for the first time. WIOCC has benefited from this appetite for investment, hyperscale, regional and edge DCs. This hyperscale digital backbone is increasingly being closing a $200m debt and equity raise late last year. Much used by mobile operators to support 5G network deployof this funding is to be invested – through OADC - in ment, by internet service providers (ISPs) and fibre operdeploying a pan-African network of strategically located. ators to extend network reach into new markets, and by world-class, open-access, Tier III DCs, designed to meet cloud and content providers to explore the opportunities the demands of the cloud operator and wholesale community, as well as key verticals including Finance, Government enabled by content delivery to the network edge. With many more OADC Edge DCs coming on stream and Oil & Gas. across the country in the coming months and expansion Increasingly, large organisations are recognising that into more countries planned for later this year, Africa’s presence in a single high-capacity DC is no longer suffidigital backbone is being rapidly expanded to support the cient to address a country or region. Instead, the need to demands of digital transformation across the continent. extend connectivity deeper into new markets, to enable the serving of content as close as possible to its source and its WIOCC CEO CHRIS WOOD is making an enduring contribuconsumption (for improved availability and performance), tion to communications in Africa. and to support deployment of the next generation of latenHe has grown WIOCC into Africa’s digital backbone, the organisation responsible for the continent’s first, truly cy-sensitive applications, will increasingly require a mesh hyperscale network infrastructure, and has been instrumenof appropriately scaled DCs across multiple countries and tal in improving Africa’s global connectivity and digital cities. Wider availability of in-country facilities will also infrastructure. Chris’s vision is driving WIOCC’s strategic investments support compliance with national legislation requirements in major submarine cable systems serving Africa; the deployment of hyperscale on issues such as disaster recovery and data sovereignty. terrestrial fibre infrastructure interconnecting key markets and subsea cables; OADC is undertaking phased deployment of a mesh of metropolitan network rollout; and the launch of transformational, pan-African data centre operator OADC, with its network of open-access, carrier-neuregional and edge DCs across the continent, with initial tral, hyperscale, regional and edge data centres that support interconnected, deployment already underway. By establishing world-class, integrated ecosystems. MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE

SDM AND THE ERA OF VIRTUAL CABLES BY JOHN TIBBLES

ne of the nice things about semi-retirement and working for oneself is that you are your own media relations or corporate affairs department. This allows some free speculation about the development that may radically change the subsea industry which is interesting and hopefully thought-provoking.

INTRODUCTION - INEXORABLE CHANGE

Over the past thirty years, subsea fibre optic cables have experienced remarkable growth in terms of capability, range and capacity. They have gone from an obscure and minor part in the global telecoms revolution that satellite communications brought about, to a key element of the digital economy, recognised as critical infrastructure around the world. In large part, this has been because of the ability of

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subsea cables to evolve especially in terms of capacity. From the early PDH systems, which had capacity minute by modern standards but at the time aroused worries that they could never be fully utilised subsea systems have had the capability of readily meeting the demands placed on them. Of course, the technical capability was not matched by the assessments of commercial viability and many of the major global carriers preferred to invest in mobile services or ‘content ‘. In hindsight, it was a bad decision because the shadow of Google and Facebook and others was already looming. These new parties did have a global vision and decided that the traditional source of capacity, the big carriers, would not meet their needs so they would build their own cables. We all know what that has done to the subsea business!

TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES

Alongside the commercial and economic developments technology however continued to evolve in terms of providing the capability for systems to operate over longer distances and with more flexibility. Initially, it was just the application of small improvements in optical technology that allowed the capacity of cables to increase through the 1990s and the early years of this century. It was DWDM that really showed what could be done with subsea systems with step changes of multiples of system capacity not just incremental increases. As it became apparent that even more wavelengths could be carried on one pair, demand was perhaps for the first time catching up with supply and manufacturers had to look beyond this technology to get more capacity from the basic cable system. By basic, I of course mean the cable sheath, the repeaters/regenerators and installation costs which are fixed costs that have to be met if there are four or twenty-four fibre pairs. To an outsider, it might seem strange that the idea of just putting more fibres in the cable was not taken up instead of the superficially more complex DWDM However it requires overcoming complex challenges in repeater design, laser optics and power technologies to make more fibre pairs, or its grander name, Space Division Multiplexing, a practical solution

COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Despite the changes in the industry, from carrier domination, private systems, and the condominium systems pioneered by the big data companies one thing remained the same. There was a great deal of sharing required. A lot of common equipment and technology was involved in proving the end-user products of 10gbs, 100Gbs, 400Gbs, paths with the occasional whole fibre pair transaction often done as a swap between two of the newer ‘Big Data’ financed systems to provide mutual diversity. While the concept of Open Cables replaced the often restrictive and access limiting options of the past, end-users were still very reliant on the cable owner. These were still required to manage their service and provide the capability for expansion of an end-users’ network. In many ways, these systems were not that different from the consortium projects the original model for all subsea cables. SDM is different even though everything is still contained in the same basic cable design. Some of the earlier condominium systems allowed companies with very deep pockets to buy a whole fibre pair and manage that themselves within specifications to preserve overall system

integrity. Going from 6 or 8 fibre pairs to 24 or even 32 is a huge change in terms of the capacity of the cable but more importantly, it makes a huge difference to the cost per fibre pair. As a very basic example, if the cost of a conventional 6 pair DWDM system between points A and B is $300M the nominal cost of a fibre pair is $50m. That is a lot of money but with say 30 pairs the initial project cost might increase to $360M but the cost per pair is now just $12m. This brings a fibre pair within reach of smaller carriers, ISPs and other digital services providers. (And yes, that is a very simple illustration of the huge change in affordability). It has also made possible the likes of the Meta (Facebook) 2Africa cable where one system can serve a great many parties and indeed many nations. With 2Africa, perhaps the boldest system concept to date, each party can get the discrete/secure communications it needs without multiple intermediate landings, sometimes in countries, it does not regard as friends.

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS.

As has been highlighted above SDM cables make owning connectivity at the fibre pair level affordable and attainable to a wide range of parties who could never justify the investment. Of course, just like cables themselves owning one fibre pair is not enough because you need network resilience and therefore you often need a second fibre pair much in the way the OTTs swapped pairs on the early systems that they sponsored. Of course, with one pair in just one cable resilience is an issue and breaks will still happen. However, on a system like 2Africa, parties can for example afford a pair in two different directions giving them genuine diversity. In a more developed market like the Atlantic, a fibre pair on different SDM based systems would mean that even relatively small operators can run fully protected end to end services at a far lower cost base than previously. It also means they may no longer need to manage multiple wavelengths spread across different systems with different latencies Digital services are a market that evolves very quickly. All kinds of innovations and services tailored to one or another industry are commonplace, but in the past, the connectivity costs made them difficult to deploy globally without support from a global operator of some kind. Now it is possible for parties to genuinely own their whole network, increase capacity as required and have complete security over the carriage of their data. A worldwide in-house LAN. In simple terms, almost anyone who would like a fibre pair (or two) but had to go through intermediaries to MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE obtain affordable capacity can now do so on their own be they a country, a global ISP, a member of the exclusive “Big Data” club.

BUY YOUR OWN “VIRTUAL CABLE”

further accelerator to the retirement of older systems? Recurrent operating costs can make older systems uneconomic, and industry commentators have already highlighted this happening already as a result of higher capacity DWDM systems. Might SDM reduce the number of cables in say the Atlantic or Pacific for the reasons above and therefore reduce resilience and increase vulnerability, deliberate or accidental, as users look to rationalise networks for lower costs but with fewer paths? What will be the impact on system suppliers, and optical transmission equipment vendors? Could the enormous capacity of the SDM systems make the big data ‘system sponsors’ seek out partners to share the financial risk? Perhaps bringing new entrants to the wholesale market especially entities already involved with digital infrastructure investment. Some such investors are looking to diversify from towers and data centres but have shied away from subsea in the past but with a large part of the project cost covered by a deep pockets sponsor, they may see these opportunities as potentially profitable and less risky.

For the first time, it is no longer prohibitively expensive to buy what is in effect your own tailor-made private subsea cable. Something which can be plugged into your existing network, running to your own demands without the need to outsource that last missing piece. I would speculate that this brings fibre pair ownership within easy reach of the major international banks and other global financial services companies, major airlines, global energy companies or entertainment content providers/sporting event rights holders. Markets where major corporations traditionally had to go to carriers or similar to provide their global network services. Additionally, data centre titans like Equinix or carrier-neutral platform providers like DE-CIX or India’s Lightstorm would seem to be ideal customers for open access fibre pairs giving them more control and more capacity. Because of the ever-evolving nature of communications, it is reasonable to speculate that there are other digital services companies still ‘under the radar’ that need large amounts of capacity and low latency. Discrete fibre pair ownership will facilitate newer enterprises make that big step from dependency to independence for digital transport more easily than in the past and allowing them to access economies of scale once denied to market entrants. It is a similar issue for countries, especially smaller ones, getting capacity on the scale 2Africa can deliver would have been completely prohibitive for some of the states on this route with conventional systems. Another attraction is knowing exactly where your data is going, or more accurately, not going. Competition and suspicion between countries is a historical inevitability and is not going away anytime soon.

SUMMARY THOUGHTS

JOHN TIBBLES has spent a working lifetime in global telecoms much of it in the subsea cable arena where he held senior positions responsible for subsea investments and operations at Cable and Wireless and MCI WorldCom and as an internal advisor consultant to Reach and Telstra Reach. John spent many years working for C&W in Bermuda and established the first private subsea cable offshore company and has worked extensively with both consortia and private system models. He has a wide background and expertise in most commercial matters of international telecoms and since ‘retiring’ he has remained active in the industry as a consultant, commentator and at times a court appointed expert and has been a panellist and moderator at international events.

1. 2.

SDM makes large scale capacity much more affordable; SDM will allow much more connectivity to the major nodes of the global network from the developing world as smaller nations can afford such large-scale connectivity SDM will change the market dynamics between the major nodes allowing new market entrants, for whom long haul data transport is not their major business, to economically up- gauge their own networks. Will the huge cost advantage of SDM cables be a

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CONCLUSION?

“Surely you will never fill a system that size?” This is a question many of us have heard from senior management or investors; but we did. So, a couple of questions to end with: Q1 Will SDM disrupt the current market structure for subsea capacity? History tells us Probably Yes. Q2. SDM is a major step change but just how many fibres can you get in a system without heat dissipation problems or repeaters being too unwieldy for deployment or recovery. Those constraints allied to optical technology approaching the Shannon limit beg the question have we reached a development plateau? History tells us Probably No. STF

FEATURE

THE LEGAL STATUS AND APPLICABLE REGIME OF INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE CABLES BY MARTA LAHUERTA ESCOLANO

INTRODUCTION

The submarine fiber optic cable networks are a true “bridge between people” and are part of the international infrastructures that are unique due to their technical nature, their vital importance for the economy and national security and their vulnerability. According to the International Telecommunications Union, a submarine communications cable is “a cable laid in the sea bed, or buried in shallow water, intended to carry communications”1. Submarine cables use fiber optics to transmit data at the speed of light. Just over 420 cables are buried in the depths of the world’s oceans and provide 99% of the world’s communications via telephone exchanges and Internet access2. Despite the successful installation of the first submarine cable in the 19th century, little is known about these infrastructures and several legal issues remain regarding their legal status and the regime governing their construction, installation and landing. 1

International Telecommunication Union, “Submarine Cable Regulation”, PowerPoint presentation, 2010, available online at: https://www.itu.int/ITU-D/finance/work-costtariffs/events/tariff-seminars/Dakar-10/PDF/cable_sous_marin.pdf 2 L’incroyable histoire des câbles sous-marins, des télégraphes à Internet, Les Echos, 7 October 2021.

A submarine cable crosses multiple environments: land or sea, on the one hand, and cyber or physical space, on the other. This heterogeneity of environments encountered by the submarine cable network is materialized by a dispersed legal framework3.

INTERNATIONAL LAW

The international nature of submarine cables, which often link several States (for example, the 2 AFRICA submarine cable extends over 45,000 km and is intended to link 33 countries), creates legal difficulties at many levels. In addition, to the question of the rights conferred and the obligations imposed on the suppliers, owners and installers of cables crossing several States, there is also the question of the protection of these critical infrastructures.

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA

Most of the international law applicable to the laying of submarine cables comes from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay Convention of December 10, 1982). It incorporates and completes the 3 C amille Morel, L’Etat et le réseau mondial de câbles sous-marins de communication, PhD thesis in public law, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, defended on November 18, 2020.

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FEATURE essential provisions of the Paris Convention of 1884 on the protection of submarine cables and the Geneva Convention of 1958 on the Law of the Sea. The Montego Bay Convention provides a legal division of the sea into several maritime spaces, the applicable international legal regime being different in each of these spaces. According to article 3 of the Montego Bay Convention, the territorial sea borders the coasts of States and can extend up to 12 nautical miles beyond the baselines. The territorial sea is an integral part of the sovereign territory of States. Consequently, the coastal State has the right to legislate and regulate the deployment of cables in this area. The laying of submarine cables in the territorial sea is often subject to an administrative authorization from the competent authority for the use of the public maritime domain. At the very least, coastal States require a formal application for the laying of a submarine cable issued by the installer with the assistance of the owner of the submarine cable. This authorization may also be accompanied by the payment of a tax or fee. In some countries, the fee applicable to submarine cables laid in waters under the sovereignty of a country, is established per linear meter of cable. Beyond the territorial sea, articles 58.1 and 79.1 of the Montego Bay Convention establish a principle of freedom according to which all States have the right to lay submarine cables on the continental shelf4 and in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)5. However, this freedom remains subject to the powers reserved to the coastal State which may take reasonable measures to protect its artificial islands, structures and installations deployed in these areas or to guarantee the exercise of its right to explore and exploit the continental shelf6. In principle, the coastal State should not require authorization for the laying of submarine cables in this area. However, it may request that the route of submarine cables in this zone be communicated to it. It may thus request its modification if necessary. Consequently, in this zone, the laying of cables is free, taking into account the rights and obligations of the coastal State7. 4 In accordance with article 76.1 of the Montego Bay Convention, the continental shelf comprises the seabed and subsoil beyond the territorial sea of the coastal State throughout the natural prolongation of the land territory of that State to the outer edge of the continental margin, or up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, where the outer edge of the continental margin is less than that distance. 5 According to articles 55 and 57 of the Montego Bay Convention, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is located beyond the territorial sea and extends to 200 nautical miles from the baselines. 6 Except in this case, the coastal State must not hinder the laying or maintenance of submarine cables or pipelines (article 79. 2. of the Montego Bay Convention). 7 JurisCalsseur Communications, Fasc. 400 : Droit international des télécommunications, 1st April 2021.

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The freedom to lay submarine cables is only complete on the high seas or in international waters (all the maritime space that extends beyond the EEZ and the continental shelf )8 where all States, coastal or not, have “the freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines”9. The international sources of law applicable to submarine cables are supplemented by a set of regional, bilateral and multilateral sources.

REGIONAL LAW

Regional organizations have taken an interest in the supervision of submarine cables by formulating guidelines and directives for their member states. This is the case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which, through a 2012 regulation10, adopted a set of rules setting out the conditions of access to submarine cable landing stations. Thus, in its article 4.1, the regulation requires Member States to encourage the granting of licenses to new submarine cable landing stations. In order to promote equitable access to bandwidth, Member States must ensure that, when granting licenses to operators, they include provisions on open access to cable landing stations and on the provision of international capacity on a non-discriminatory basis.

SOME BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS

Some bilateral and multilateral agreements also organize the relations between States in terms of laying submarine cables. One example is the agreement concluded in 2009 between Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden for the construction of a high voltage submarine cable under the Baltic Sea.

NATIONAL LAW MULTIPLE AREAS OF LAW

Submarine cable networks are subject to international law, but are also governed by national legislation. In the domestic order, sovereign States subject the laying, landing and operation of submarine cables to various legal regimes. Submarine cables are thus governed by various areas of law, in particular, electronic communications law - since they are electronic communications networks -, public and 8 Article 86 of the Montego Bay Convention. 9 Articles 87 and 112 of the Montego Bay Convention. 10 Council Regulation C/REG.06/06/12 on conditions of access to submarine cable landing stations. According to article 12.3 of the revised ECOWAS Treaty, ECOWAS Council Regulations are binding on Member States after their approval by the Conference.

real estate law - which determines in particular the rules applicable to the construction and occupation of the public maritime domain -, environmental law - which requires a certain number of studies to be carried out in order to assess, among other things, the impact on the environment and the environment, among other things, the impact on the environment and the marine environment of the submarine cable deployment project -, industrial property law - in order to protect the inventor’s right -, cybersecurity law, defense law and criminal law - allowing the sanctioning of any behavior likely to cause deterioration of the network. Today, national legislation on the laying of submarine cables is becoming increasingly flexible in order to provide the most attractive legal framework possible to encourage the installation of new submarine cables. In France, this trend is illustrated by the Circular issued by the Secretary General for the Sea on November 13, 2020, which aims to streamline administrative procedures for submarine communication cables by establishing a single point of contact in the administration. This simplification effort is very welcome for international submarine cable project developers. The complexity of a file is not only technical, negotiations can be long with governments and all stakeholders. Any initiative to facilitate the deployment of the cable will be taken into consideration by the cable owners to define the landing points.

PRIVATE LAW

The private owner of a submarine cable is often a single company, as it is the case of Google’s Equiano submarine cable, or a consortium of companies, as it is the case of the 2 Africa, Africa-1 or ACE cables systems. Submarine cable deployment projects entail a fairly complex contractual architecture, starting with the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), followed by the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the Joint Build Agreement ( JBA) governing relations between the various entities forming part of a consortium, the construction and maintenance contract (C&MA) to be concluded between the supplier and the owner of the cable that establishes the sharing of the responsibilities between each of the parties, the Joint System Maintenance Document ( JSMD) which explains the technical and safety aspects of the submarine cable, the branch construction contract, the Landing Agreement (LPA/LSA) to be concluded with the entity owning the landing station which determines the conditions of the co-location and operation and maintenance service and the agreements for crossings of other cables or pre-existing pipelines

PROTECTION OF CABLES

The protection of submarine cables results from a regime defined by the International Convention for the Protection of Submarine Cables signed in Paris in 1884. The Montego Bay Convention takes up some of these provisions and provides in particular for the obligation for States to sanction the deterioration or breaking of a cable. However, the protection measures provided for in these texts are not sufficient in view of the threats and the critical importance of these infrastructures. Submarine cables have thus been targets in times of war. The Paris Convention of 1884 allowed the belligerents freedom of action in wartime11. They could then cut submarine cables. Thus, during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Ottoman Empire proceeded to cut a cable between Constantinople and Odessa12. The Paris Convention offered protection to submarine cables only in non-wartime. This protection was taken over by the Montego Bay Convention. The International Cable Protection Committee established in 1958 continued this protection work by issuing international recommendations for the installation, protection and maintenance of cables. In August 2014, Russia severed Ukrainian submarine cables during the annexation of Crimea. The intensity of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the threat of Russian occupation of Odessa, Ukraine’s largest seaport, has reignited concerns about the risk of submarine cable severance. In this context, it is essential to strengthen the legal framework protecting submarine cables. This will not be an easy task given the hybrid nature of this infrastructure, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. STF MARTA LAHUERTA ESCOLANO is Counsel at Jones Day. Marta focuses on telecommunications, media and technologies (TMT). She has been admitted to the Paris and Madrid bar. Her practice covers all aspects related to the regulation of the sector, transactions, project financing and litigation. She has recognized expertise in submarine cables, covering all contractual aspects related to the deployment of a submarine cable system project, from the conceptual phase to upgrades, including design, implementation, operation and maintenance. Her expertise also covers the drafting and negotiation of documentation related to the implementation of landing stations, the provision of landing services, co-location and access to terrestrial fibers. Any views or opinions expressed in this article are personal and belong solely to the author.

11 P. Achilleas, op. cit. n° 72 and following. 12 C. Morel, The endangerment of the international submarine communication network, Flux 2019/4, n° 118, p.35 and following.

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FEATURE

THE EASTERN & ASSOCIATED TELEGRAPH COMPANIES BY STEWART ASH AND BILL BURNS

he 1 June this year marks the 150th anniversary of the telegraphy began on 28 August 1850 when the steam tug Goliath laid an insulated copper wire across the English founding of the Eastern Telegraph Co Ltd (ETC) Channel, from Dover to Calais, for John Watkins Brett by John Pender (1816-96). Pender was a Victori(1805-63) and his brother Jacob (1808-97). Although this an cotton merchant who had the vision to see that unarmoured line failed soon after its installation, a year lattelecommunication is the engine of diplomacy and er an armoured four-core cable was laid on the same route, trade and was vital to the growth and prosperity of the which allowed the Brett Brothers’ Submarine Telegraph British Empire. Along with Daniel Gooch (1816-89), he Co to provide the first commercial service between Lonwas instrumental in building and operating the first global don and Paris. With the success of the Channel cable, the network of submarine cables, and under the stewardship Magnetic planned to lay a cable to Ireland, and to do this of four generations of his family, the ETC and its associthey needed to raise new capital. To fund this project, the ated companies grew into the largest telecommunications company was restructured as the English & Irish Magnetic company in the world. This is a complex story, but in this Co Ltd, and early in 1852 a prospectus was issued inviting article, we will try and explain the key features and milenew investment. This is where John Pender, and perhaps stones of its development. The story of the electric telegraph as a commercial service just as significantly, his second wife Emma, née Denison, enters our story. At that time John Pender was a successful begins at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign. Alexandrina merchant, well known on the ManVictoria (1819-1901) ascended to chester Cotton Exchange. the throne on the death of her uncle, Emma was a member of the landed William IV (1765-1837), on 20 June gentry, from Daybrook in Nottingham. 1837. This was just one month after She was an heiress and an intelligent William Fothergill Cooke (1806-79) woman with considerable financial and Charles Wheatstone (1802-75) acumen, and more importantly, conreceived the world’s first patent for an nections in the higher ranks of society. electric telegraph. After much experWhile John Pender was wealthy, he imenting, in 1846 Cooke & Wheatwas a ‘self-made man’ and so had no stone, with the support of businessman standing among the rich and powJohn Lewis Ricardo (1812-62), formed erful. Emma brought him access to The Electric Telegraph Company to that level of society and her shrewd exploit this patent commercially. The and cautious approach to financial Electric Telegraph Co had no commatters counterbalanced his natural petition as it expanded its terrestrial risk-taking tendencies. A formidable services across the country until 1851, woman, she was in many ways the when the Magnetic Telegraph Co was power behind the throne of The Cable formed in Liverpool. King, as John Pender would later be As has been documented on many Emma Pender 1856 by Phillip Westcott (1815-78) known. At the time of their marriage occasions, the story of submarine

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of Daniel Gooch, while retaining John’s money was entirely in his controlling stockholding. He cotton and secured in one bank. It then set about his vision of buildwas Emma who persuaded him to ing a global submarine cable netdiversify his portfolio and recomwork to service locations where mended to him that the Magnetic the British Empire had political would represent a good and lowand/or commercial interests. risk investment. John was not so The first step was a submarine sure but based on his wife’s advice cable to India. To achieve this he took a substantial stake in the complex goal while spreading English & Irish Magnetic Co the financial risk, he formed Ltd, and on 10 June 1852 he was three separate companies: The elected to the board of directors Anglo-Mediterranean Cable of the new company. Co (founded 18 May 1868); the By 1854, John Pender was Falmouth, Gibraltar & Malta committed to submarine telegraTelegraph Co (founded 16 June phy, so when John Watkins Brett, 1869) and the British Indian Cyrus West Field (1819-92) and Submarine Telegraph ComCharles Tilston Bright (1832-88) pany (founded October 1869). came to Manchester looking for Running from Porthcurno to investment in The Atlantic TeleBombay (now Mumbai), this was graph Co, John Pender was one John Pender, Chairman of Telcon, 1864, Attributed to George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) known as the ‘Red Sea Line’ (See of the first to invest £1,000, and SubTel Forum March 2020). On he encouraged other Manchester 1 June 1872, these three companies were merged, together businessmen to do the same. For this he was invited to join the board of directors. As is well known, the 1857 and 1858 with the Marseilles, Algiers & Malta Telegraph Co (founded in 1870), to form the Eastern Telegraph Co, with John attempts to lay the Atlantic cable failed, and in 1859 John Pender as its Chairman. Pender resigned as a director of the Atlantic Telegraph Co. Transmission over the Atlantic Cables had only been However, thanks to the efforts of Cyrus Field and James possible because of the mirror galvanometer, patented in Stuart-Wortley (1805-81) the dream did not die. (See 1858 by Professor William Thomson (1824-1907), but by Back Reflections July 2020 to January 2021). John Pendthe time the Red Sea Line went into commercial service on er returned to the Board of the Atlantic Telegraph Co in 24 June 1870, Pender was able to take advantage of Thom1864, and that year he was also instrumental in founding son’s latest invention, the syphon recorder, patented in 1867 the Telegraph Construction & Maintenance Co (Telcon). and by then perfected. The syphon recorder drew an ink line He was largely responsible for the successful 1866 Atlantic on moving tape, and thus produced a permanent record of cable and the completion of the 1865 cable, although his the incoming signal. This significantly reduced the number outstanding contribution was not recognised in the 1867 of transcription errors that had previously occurred, an esNew Year’s Honours List. sential improvement given the large number of re-transmisOn 31 July 1868, the British Government under Benjasions necessary to send a message from London to Bombay. min Disraeli (1804-81) gained Royal Assent for the TeleTo provide a 24-hour service over the Red Sea Line, a large graph Act, which paved the way for the nationalisation of number of operators had to be trained. This training was all the terrestrial telegraph companies, which would then initially carried out on the job at Porthcurno, but by 1871 be run by the General Post Office. The Act differentiated a dedicated training school had been established there, and between Submarine Telegraphy (shallow water short-haul systems) and Oceanic Telegraphy (deep water medium- and this supported the company’s needs up to the early 1990s. In parallel with the building of the Red Sea Line, Pender long-haul systems). This left transoceanic telegraphy in the established three other companies: The British Indian hands of private enterprise. By this time John Pender was Extension Co (founded in 1869), the China Submarine Chairman of the British & Irish Magnetic Telegraph Co Telegraph Co (founded in 1869) and the British Australian and also of Telcon. He sold his and Emma’s shares in the Telegraph Co (founded in 1870). The first laid a cable from Magnetic and stood down as Chairman of Telcon in favour MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE extend the company’s network Madras (Chennai) to Penang around the world. By 1876, and on to Singapore. The secNew Zealand was connected to ond laid a cable from Singapore Australia. In 1878, Portugal was to Shanghai via Saigon, Hong connected to Recife in Brazil via Kong and Foochow, which was St Vincent and then on down to completed in late 1871. The Montevideo. In 1879, the East third laid a cable from Singapore & South African Cable Co was to Djakarta (then Batavia). A formed to extend a cable down Dutch-owned terrestrial cable the east coast of Africa from provided a link across Java from Aden to Durban via MombaDjakarta to Banjoewangie, from sa and Mozambique, and then where a submarine cable was laid overland to Cape Town. In 1885, to Darwin. Pender then built a two companies were registered 1,973 miles terrestrial cable from to build a festoon down the west Darwin to Port Augusta, north coast of Africa from St Vincent of Adelaide, from where it was to Cape Town. Finally, in 1875 extended to other major cities by Pender had acquired a bankrupt the Australian administrations. cable company that operated a It became known as the ‘All Sea’ cable between Valparaiso and telegraph system between the UK Lima, and in 1892 he negotiand Australia, even though it had ated a concession to operate a land routes across Egypt, India land route from Buenos Aires, and Java, and went into commerSir John Pender KCMG 1888 by Hubert Von Herkomer (1849-1914) connecting this system to ETC’s cial service on 2 October 1872. global network. All these systems were funded by This expansion was not all plain sailing, as competition private finance and manufactured and installed by Telcon. and envy were ever present. In February 1868, John Pender Once again, Pender was able to convince shareholders had been elected Chairman of the Anglo-American Teleto merge these three companies into one, and in May 1873 graph Co. The success of the two Atlantic cables had stimthe Eastern Extension, Australia & China Company Ltd ulated competition, and from 1869 to 1881 five companies was formed. Pender had plans to further consolidate his were formed to build competitive cables for the lucrative two major companies into a single larger entity, but these Atlantic route. However, through a process of merger, acwere resisted by those shareholders whose investments were quisition, and the negotiation of a revenue sharing arrangelimited to the Eastern Telegraph Co. Although many of ment known as a ‘Joint Purse’ agreement, by September the Directors of the Eastern Telegraph Co were also on the 1888 Pender was able to regain full control of the pricing of board of the Eastern Extension Co, very few shareholders Transatlantic traffic. held a stake in both companies, and Pender was unable to Almost as soon as the ETC’s cables to Australasia were push his plans for amalgamation further. Instead, he foundin operation, the Colonial Governments began looking for ed the Globe Telegraph & Trust Company Limited. This alternatives to the company’s monopoly. In January 1877, company was formed to raise capital for system expansion the first meeting was held to discuss the building of a cable and duplication of existing lines, and to allow investors to from San Francisco to New Zealand. Although the idea further spread the financial risk of individual submarine was considered attractive, the Colonial Governments were cable projects. A share in the Globe Telegraph & Trust Co not prepared to fund it. However, a Pacific cable soon found included a proportion of shares of other telegraph cable a champion in the chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific companies, predominantly the Eastern Telegraph Group Railway, Sandford Fleming (1827-1915). While the railand Anglo-American Telegraph Co. In many ways the Globe Telegraph & Trust Co was an early form of unit trust. way across Canada would not be completed until 1885, a telegraph system running alongside it offered the attractive As the ETC grew, submarine cable company stock moved from a high risk to virtually a ‘blue-chip’ investment, possibility of a line to Australasia over an all-British controlled route. The building of such a cable would of course allowing Pender to use his established business model to

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have significant impact on ETC’s revenues and its ability to recover its sunk investment. Once again, Pender used his considerable influence in the corridors of power and his substantial business acumen to delay the progress of this Pacific cable, and it would not be built within his lifetime. During John Pender’s life, electrical telegraphy was the only available communications technology, but new developments were coming. On 7 March 1876, the United States Patent Office awarded Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) his infamous and much-disputed US Patent 174,465 ‘Improvement in Telegraphy’. The telephone came to the UK in October 1877, but it was on a very small scale and there was no plan for a national network, as many thought it would remain a rich man’s toy. Pender was more cautious and monitored its progress, but finally concluded, rightly, that it could be a compatible technology to oceanic telegraphy, but that it would be many years, if ever, before it would compete with his core business. Recognition of Pender by the British establishment was a long time in coming. For most of this period John Pender had been a Liberal MP, but he had fallen out with his leader, William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) over home rule for Ireland and Gladstone’s undisguised ambition to nationalise Pender’s companies. Fortunately for the ETC, Gladstone never had sufficient support to bring this to the top of the Government’s agenda, and Pender’s lobbying in the corridors of power had much to do with this. However, the question as to whether telecommunications should be under the control of private enterprise for the benefit of shareholders, or a public service controlled by governments, would be a recurring issue. Finally, in 1888, the Conservative Prime Minster, Lord Salisbury (1830-1903) arranged for Pender to be knighted KCMG. Salisbury would also have this honour elevated to GCMG in 1892. It is believed that Pender was to be created a hereditary peer in the 1896 New Year’s Honours list, but he became terminally ill before the warrant could be signed by Queen Victoria.

Sir John died at his country house, Foots Cray Place, on 7 July 1896. At that time, the Eastern Associated Telegraph Companies (EATC) had a share capital of £6,217,000 with reserves of £845,000. They provided services ‘Via Eastern’ over 26,350nm of cable systems, employing 1,150 people in cable stations and offices around the world and 650 marine staff on five cable maintenance ships. With cable depots and

Eastern Telegraph Company System and Connections circa 1901

spare cable their total assets had a book value of £5,155,00. It was by far the biggest telecommunications company in the world at the time! The stewardship of EATC would in time pass to Sir John’s youngest son John Denison Denison-Pender (1835-1929). In 1890, just prior to the death of his mother, he had taken her maiden name as a second surname, by royal warrant. Emma was the last of her line and John Denison wanted the family name to go on. After the death of his elder brother, Henry Denison Pender (1852-81), who was being groomed to replace his father, John Denison Pender, joined the ETC in September 1881 as a Director. He was promoted to Managing Director in 1893, and on his father’s death he became Deputy Chairman and Managing Director. EATC was probably at MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE Marian née Cairns (1819-41), James Pender its zenith at that time, but serious competi(1841-1921), appointed as a Telcon Director. tion was on the horizon. Just prior to John In July 1897, Marconi formed the WirePender’s death, on 2 June 1896 Guglielmo less Telegraph & Signal Co to exploit his Giovanni Marconi (1874-1937) applied for patents. Although this allowed him to make his British Patent No. 12039 ‘Improvements and sell his radio equipment, as far as the in Transmitting Electrical impulses and SigBritish Government was concerned, if he nals, and in Apparatus therefor’. Although wanted to run a telegraph service in the this technology would take some time to UK, he could only do it under licence from develop, it would play a major role in the the British Post Office. In February 1900, future of the EATC. the company name was changed to MarIn October 1899, the Boer War broke out coni’s Wireless Telegraph Co. This licence in South Africa. Although Cape Town was restriction did not prevent him putting his connected to London by EATC cables up the East and West coast of Africa, the need James Pender (1841-1921) apparatus aboard ships, so he started with a ship-to-shore telegraph service, founding for regeneration of messages at each landMarconi’s International Marine Commuing point meant that urgent messages were nications Co on 25 April 1900. That year taking too long. In response to this problem, Marconi was awarded his Patent No 7777 John Denison formed a plan to lay a new which solved the syntony problem, providcable, at EATC’s cost, from Cape Town to ing a means of greatly reducing interference St Vincent via St Helena and Ascension between transmitting stations by tuning of Island. The contract was awarded to Telcon the transmitter, receiver, and aerial. and was completed on 21 February 1900. In On 17 December 1902, Marconi made the June 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in first radio telegraph transmission across the China. To improve British communications Atlantic, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Signal to the area of unrest, John Denison, again at Hill in Newfoundland. Although further the Company’s cost, immediately sent cable development was required, this achievement to China to extend the cable from Shanghai Sir John Denison Denison-Pender KCMG clearly represented potential major competito Cheefoo, Taku and the British naval base 1901 by Beatrice Bright (1861-1940) tion to oceanic telegraphy and, along with the at Wei-hai-wei. For these services to the Pacific Cable, a significant reduction in the Crown, John Denison Denison-Pender was EATC’s revenue. However, the directors of the knighted KCMG on 29 November 1900. EATC were no longer the Victorian pioneers, In the year of John Pender’s death, the and they were not able or prepared to accept possibility of a Pacific cable, something he the significance of this technological advancehad fought off for nearly twenty years, took ment. Although John Denison foresaw the risk another step forward with the formation of and recognised the opportunity of collaboratthe Pacific Cable Board. This had represening with Marconi, it would appear from extentation from the Governments of Australia, sive research of the family archive that he did Britain, and Canada. The cable route survey not have his father’s charisma or the same level across the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver of loyalty from his fellow directors. He was commenced in 1899, and in 1901 the Pacific unable to convince them; they were content to Cable Act gave the three Governments auaddress the Pacific Cable challenge by reducthority to proceed with the cable’s construcing rates, and they rejected any idea of working tion. As usual, the contract was awarded to with Marconi. It became cable versus wireless Telcon, and the cable went into service on 8 Sir John Denison Denison-Pender KCMG and Anglo-American used its exclusive licence December 1902. Daniel Gooch had died on GBE 1919 by Beatrice Bright for communication in Newfoundland to force 15 October 1889, bringing his long collaboMarconi to dismantle his radio equipment there. This was the ration with Sir John Pender to an end. To retain the family moment that Britain lost the leadership it could have had in influence on the Telcon board, Pender had used his stock radio transmission to the USA. holding to have his eldest son from his first marriage to

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In the first decade of the 20th century, the British and Colonial Governments regularly debated whether to nationalise the oceanic telegraph companies in order to secure Imperial communications, but at the same time they also refused Marconi commercial licences to prove his radio systems. Due to its speed of transmission the Pacific Cable was taking customers away from the ‘All Sea’ route to Australasia, and by splitting the relatively small traffic between the two routes, neither company was covering its costs, much as Sir John Denison-Pender had predicted. The issue of control of Imperial telecommunications came into sharp focus when the remaining British Atlantic cables, then owned by Anglo-American and the Direct US Cable Company, were leased to Western Union and American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). By 1910, the line from England to Australasia via the Pacific Cable was no longer an all-British route, so the British Government began to consider a state-owned Atlantic cable. At the 1911 Imperial Conference it was agreed to establish a chain of six wireless stations, and that Marconi should be the one to build them for the Post Office. As usual, the wheels of government moved slowly and amidst claims of insider dealing by leading MPs, several Select Committees had to sit and report before Marconi’s contract was ratified by Parliament on 8 August 1913. Work began at sites in Egypt, India and England, but with the outbreak of World War One (WWI) on 8 August 1914, the Government had no choice but to cancel the contract. What became known as the ‘Marconi Scandal’ had deprived Britain of a potentially powerful tool to help defeat the Germans. Throughout WWI cables were seen as vital arteries of communications. British cableships cut and diverted German cables, and the Germans attacked and occasionally took control of British overseas cable stations. The war inevitably stimulated telegraph traffic - EATC’s revenues increased by 14% in 1915, and they continued to rise, going from £837K in 1914 to £3,365K in 1919. At the end of 1917, ETC’s Chairman, Sir John Wolfe

Eastern Telegraph Cable Map 1872

Eastern Telegraph Cable Map 1922

Barry (1836-1918) stood down and was replaced by John Denison-Pender. In May 1917, John Denison had been offered the appointment to Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), but for some unrecorded reason he declined. However, as the Chairman of ETC, in the 1920 New Year’s Honours list he was created MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE), on behalf of the company, for its services to the Empire during WWI. To commemorate this event a portrait was commission to hang alongside his father’s. It was painted by Anne Beatrice Bright (1861-1940), the youngest daughter of Sir Charles Tilston Bright. There was growing concern among EATC’s shareholders about the impact of wireless communications on the revenues from Oceanic Telegraphy, and ETC’s share price for the first time began to fall. Longwave wireless transmission had proved unreliable, and this had given the cable companies the belief that their position in the market could not be supplanted. However, in 1916 Marconi had begun investigating shortwave propagation, and the war had given him the opportunity to experiment and perfect his system, but there would be no quick fix to the problems and so longwave propagation would remain Marconi’s commercial offering. In 1919, Marconi re-submitted an offer, first made in 1911, to the British Government for a global wireless chain, which would be built and operated at Marconi’s expense, and he would pay the local Treasuries 25% of each station’s net profits. Also, after 30 years the chain would become Government property. There would be six main trunk routes connecting Egypt, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, West Africa, South Africa, the West Indies and Canada. A Select Committee was set up under Sir Henry Norman (1858-1939) to consider the offer. It recommended using Marconi’s plan as a blueprint for a network to be built by Marconi but operated by the British Post Office. After much debate amongst the Cabinet, and then the Colonial Governments, the Norman Committee recommendations were forgotten. Research continued, through the use of thermionic valves (vacuum tubes), to try and eliminate the need for the 2,000-mile hops that had been central to Marconi’s scheme. It was not until November 1921 that a 54-valve system was demonstrated, working from Caernarvon in Wales to Sydney, Australia in one hop. Meanwhile, in July 1922 the ETC was preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary with the slogan, “Fifty Years of ‘Via Eastern.’” A special presentation was made to Sir John Denison-Pender at the Exiles Club in Twickenham on Saturday 8 July 1922, and this was followed by an evening event at the Royal Botanical Gardens on 24 July.

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Invitation to Sir John Denison-Pender, 8 July 1922 Archives of PK Porthcurno – Museum of Global Communications [PIC///76]

A full programme of activities included light refreshments and drinks, music by the Band of His Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, an exhibition of cable repairs, an open-air cinema, Morris dancing on the lawn, a “thought reader,’ a palmist and a cartoonist in the gardens, and to conclude the evening’s entertainment, a firework display. The program for this event included maps of the ETC’s worldwide communications network showing its development from 1872 to 1922. For the Twickenham presentation, the artist Ambrose Dudley painted and hand-lettered an elaborate invitation from the staff of the ETC to Sir John Denison-Pender. This represented a link to John Pender’s involvement with the successful Atlantic cables of 1865 and 1866, just a few years before he created what would become the ETC. Ambrose was the son of Robert Dudley, who sailed on Great Eastern and created the illustrations for William Russell’s book on the 1865 expedition. Ambrose had also produced graphics for earlier ETC celebrations, and his older brother, Guildford, worked for the Eastern Telegraph Company for a number of years, based in Africa. These elaborate events in July 1922 were the last of their kind for the ETC, as Marconi’s work would soon lead to major changes in the British cable industry. While the British Government continued to dither about an Imperial chain, Marconi agreed to set up a station in Cape Town to work directly to Britain. The work started

the first radio telephone link across the early in 1923, and was quickly followed by a Atlantic. This was yet another service to take station in Australia, then a licence from the customers from ETC, and an area in which Canadian Government to build a station they could not compete. It would be another in Montreal. On 5 March 1923, the British 30 years before transatlantic telephony via Government finally came off the fence and cable became a reality. agreed to allow licences for private compaApart from cutting rates, there were nies to build and operate wireless stations two technical improvement that allowed in the UK. However, negotiations between ETC to improve its service. The introducMarconi and the Government became protion of loaded cables increased the transtracted over the principle of revenue sharing. mission rates, and the installation at cable ETC took the opportunity to apply to the stations of electro-mechanical regeneraGovernment for licences, but they found it tors for through traffic removed the need difficult to come to an accommodation with for manual rekeying and also increased Marconi’s company, and they were final told speeds. However, more importantly, the by the British Post Office that Government John Cuthbert Denison-Pender regenerators drastically reduced errors policy prohibited granting wireless licences and the need for resending, thus reducing to private companies. The second opportunicosts and customer complaints. Despite ty to build a bridgehead between cable and this, with Governments around the world wireless had foundered. opening up competition between cable and At the beginning of 1923, Marconi wireless, the market for ETC was shrinkdemonstrated that shortwave signals could be ing. Within six months the Post Office received at night over a range of at least 2,230 beam stations had captured 65% of ETC’s miles, whereas during the day the limit was traffic and more than 50% of that of the just 1,250 miles. On 30 May 1924, Marconi state-owned Pacific Cable. ‘Telephoned’ Australia from England on a At the end of 1927, John Denison-Pender 97m waveband, and his voice was received appealed to the Conservative Government, loud and clear. Sending radio telegraph the owner and operator of the shortwave signals over long distances was not new, but beam system, to save his company from Marconi’s shortwave ‘beam’ system (so called Sir James Pender c. 1920 total collapse. ETC were invited to a series because of the directional aerials), could do it of talks with the Government to which at three times the speed using a fiftieth of the the Marconi company were not invited. power and at a twentieth of the cost. ETC This triggered a bitter propaganda camcould no longer dismiss wireless transmission paign played out by both companies in the as offering no threat to its business. press. As usual the Government debated After its prevarications, the British and prevaricated, so John Denison-Pender Government had been committed to their took matters into his own hands and arlongwave system, but under the Labour ranged a private dinner with Andrew Weir Government of Ramsey Macdonald (1866(1865-1955), Baron Inverforth, the shipping 1937) they changed course and quickly magnate, who was Chairman of Marconi’s invited Marconi to build a shortwave system Wireless Telegraph Ltd. The two men agreed to Canada to be run by the Post Office. The to negotiate a merger - but only if the Govcontract was approved on 28 July 1924, but ernment would agree to hand over control it imposed exacting conditions on Marconi of the beam radio network, that Marconi and was undertaken entirely at his company’s Henry Denison-Pender DSO at a risk. The UK station was on Bodmin Moor Telcon Function in 1957 had built, to the merged company. On 10 January 1928, the two companies issued a and the Canadian station was at Bridgewajoint statement, and six days later the Imperial Wireless & ter, Nova Scotia. The Post Office’s longwave transmitter Cable Conference held the first of 34 meetings in Lonat Rugby also went into service in 1926. It was set up as a telegraph transmitter, but on 7 February 1927 it established don to review the situation arising out of the competition MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE between cable and wireless, and to make recommendations on a revised policy. On 14 March, the Committee received a letter signed by John Denison-Pender and Lord Inverforth, explaining that the two companies had reached an agreement on merging their two companies through the vehicle of a holding company, subject to satisfactory arrangements being made with the British and Dominion Governments. The Marconi company had entered the negotiations in a position of strength, but the merged company that would result would be heavily biased towards the interests of ETC. A committee was set up to review the proposal, and its recommendations were put before the House of Commons in a White Paper and, on 2 August 1928, the Government announced that it had accepted all the committee’s recommendations. Sir John Denison Denison-Pender had saved his company from ruin and arguably left it in a stronger position than it had been at its zenith. However, he would not live to see his great success, as he died at home on 6 March 1929. Just a month later, on 8 April the shares of all the Eastern & Associated Telegraph Cos, together with the shares of Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Co, were absorbed into Cable & Wireless Ltd and the operating company, Imperial & International Communications Ltd, was set up. In line with the negotiated agreement there was to be one Chairman of both companies, a role that John Denison-Pender’s eldest son, John Cuthbert Denison Pender (1882-1949), would soon fill. So, the name of the Eastern Telegraph Company passed into history. However, the family retained its influence in cable manufacture. James Pender had died without issue on 20 May 1921 and had been replaced on the board of Telcon by Sir John Denison-Pender’s younger son, Henry Denison-Pender (1884-1967), a position he retained until he retired on 7 February 1959, when Telcon merged with BICC. Going forward, the new merged company, Imperial & International, would face similar challenges in terms of competition, nationalisation, take-overs, and technical advancement, but we will tell you more about that in the next issue.

Denison-Pender are provided courtesy of PK Porthcurno – Museum of Global Telecommunications. The PK Porthcurno Online Collections are now available at: https://pkoc. co.uk/ STF BILL BURNS is an English electronics engineer who worked for the BBC in London after graduation before moving to New York in 1971. There he spent a number of years in the high-end audio industry, during which time he wrote many audio, video, and computer equipment reviews, along with magazine articles on subjects as diverse as electronic music instruments and the history of computing. His research for these articles led to a general interest in early technology, and in the 1980s he began collecting instruments and artifacts from the fields of electricity and communications. In 1994 a chance find of a section of the 1857 Atlantic cable inspired a special interest in undersea cable history, and soon after he set up the first version of the Atlantic Cable website <https://atlantic-cable. com>, which now has over a thousand pages on all aspect of undersea communications from 1850 until the present. Bill’s interest in cable history has taken him to all of the surviving telegraph cable stations around the world, and to archives and museums in North America and Europe. He has presented papers on subsea cable history at a number of conferences, and in 2008 he instigated and helped organize the 150th Anniversary Celebration for the 1858 Atlantic cable at the New-York Historical Society. Most recently, in 2016 he was involved with the celebrations in London, Ireland and Newfoundland to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1866 Atlantic cable. Since graduating in 1970, STEWART ASH has spent his entire career in the submarine cable industry. He joined STC Submarine Systems as a development engineer, working on coaxial transmission equipment and submarine repeater design. He then transferred onto field engineering, installing coaxial submarine cable systems around the world, attaining the role of Shipboard Installation Manager. In 1986, he set up a new installation division to install fibre optic submarine systems. In 1993, he joined Cable & Wireless Marine, as a business development manager and then move to an account director role responsible for, among others the parent company, C&W. When Cable & Wireless Marine became Global Marine Systems Ltd in 1999, he became General Manager of the engineering division, responsible for system testing, jointing technology and ROV operation. As part of this role, he was chairman of the UJ Consortium. He left Global Marine in 2005 to become an independent consultant, assisting system purchasers and owners in all aspects of system procurement, operations, maintenance and repair. Stewart’s interest in the history of submarine cables began in 2000, when he project managed a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the submarine cable industry. As part of this project, he co-authored and edited From Elektron to ‘e’ Commerce. Since then, he has written and lectured extensively on the history of the submarine cable industry. From March 2009 to November 2015, he wrote Back Reflection articles for SubTel Forum. In 2013 he was invited to contribute the opening chapter to Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy, which covered the early development of the submarine cable industry. To support the campaign to save Enderby House—a Grade II listed building—from demolition, in 2015 he wrote two books about the history of the Telcon site at Enderby Wharf on the Greenwich Peninsula in London. The first was The Story of Subsea Telecommunications and its Association with Enderby House, and the second was The Eponymous Enderby’s of Greenwich. His biography of Sir John Pender GCMG The Cable King was published by Amazon in April 2018.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Harry Pender for permission to use the images of his family in this article. In particular, the portraits of John Pender (1864), Emma and John Denison Denison-Pender that are now on long term loan at PK Porthcurno. The images of the portraits of John Pender (1864) Emma Pender and John Denison

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REFERENCES A Century of Service, Cable & Wireless Ltd 1868-1968, K C Bagehole; Anchor Brendon Ltd Tiptree, Essex 1969 Girdle Round the Earth, Hugh Barty-King: William Heinemann London 1979 The Cable King, the life of John Pender, Stewart Ash, Amazon 2018

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BY THE NUMBERS SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM I N V E S T M E N T, 2 0 2 2 –2 0 2 4

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150K KMS

68K KMS

R ERG NA E IGOI O NLA LD IDSITSRTIRBIU B TUITOI N ON OO F FN N EW 0 201 2 5 E WC A CBALBEL,E2, 021022–2 2 –2 TRANSPACIFIC

85K KMS

(IN BILLIONS)

POLAR POLAR 67K KMS 150K KMS

68K KMS

INDIAN OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN EMEA EMEA AUSTRALASIA

26K KMS 62K132K KMSKMS

AUSTRALASIA

AUSTRALASIA AMERICAS

2K KMS AMERICAS

T O P D ATA C E N T E R P R O V I D E R F A C I L I T Y C O U N T

CONTENT PROVIDER

CF OA NC T EI N L ITTPYR O CVOI D UENRT FACILIT Y COUNT

CHINA TELECOM

CHINA TELECOM CENTURYLINK

AMAZON AMAZON

Number of Data Centers

EQUINIX CENTURYLINK

Number of Data Centers

DIGITAL REALTY

MICROSOFT

EQUINIX

MICROSOFT

CYRUSONE

DIGITAL REALTY TELEHOUSE

GOOGLE

CYRUSONE PTT

GOOGLE

CHINA UNICOM TELEHOUSE

FACEBOOK

CHINA MOBILE

PTT 0

CHINA UNICOM

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

FACEBOOK 0

CHINA MOBILE 0

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

NUMBER OF DATA CENTERS 20 40 60

100

120

100

120

NUMBER OF DATA CENTERS

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FEATURE

THE CONSULTANT’S ROLE IN SYSTEM COMMISSIONING BY KRISTIAN NIELSEN

ver the last year I’ve touched on elements of system development when having an expert on your side of the negotiating table is absolutely critical. In this exciting edition, I’d like to outline to steps and procedures typical in the review and acceptance of the most core elements of system development – the actual commissioning and acceptance of the system. This is the final step in system development, where years of planning come to bear fruit. Having a qualified consultant on your side of the table is absolutely critical in managing the volume and technical nature of the documents required.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The consultant will travel to and witness network system tests, validating the installation, and provide a “findings” report to include performance verification and any resulting discrepancies requiring Supplier rectification. The consultant will provide a System Acceptance Report for the system, identifying close-out issues accomplished by Supplier to the satisfaction of Client. If desired by Client, the consultant will accomplish a Follow-Up System Report approximately six months after the system has been turned over to Operations.

SYSTEM COMMISSIONING AND ACCEPTANCE

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accomplish a Follow-Up System Report approximately six months after the system has been turned over to Operations. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel.

REVIEW SYSTEM TEST PLANS AND PROCEDURES

The purpose of the Commissioning System Test Plans and Procedures Report Review is to identify any deficiencies discovered by The consultant within the system commissioning and acceptance plans and procedures, and system handbooks of the client’s submarine fiber optic cable system. The QA Consultant will attend a teleconference briefing meeting with Client. This meeting may be combined with the FAT briefing meeting. At this briefing meeting the detailed responsibilities of the QA Consultant and the schedule of his activities will be agreed upon. All relevant documentation required by the QA Consultant to accomplish his responsibilities will be made available at this meeting. All

test plans and procedures for the Final System Testing and Acceptance will be reviewed in a formal process to ensure that Client is satisfied that all appropriate parameters will be accurately tested in a manner to verify that the system, from Optical Distribution Frame (ODF) to ODF, or other fiber termination location if ODF to ODF facilities are not in place, meets all technical and commercial specifications. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-office QA Consultant personnel.

The consultant will also provide project oversight and technical support during the period in which deficiencies are rectified, documentation delivered, and all Supplier activities concluded (typically ninety-days after RFS). The consultant will review the Final Monitor Acceptance Report detailing implementation issues and rectifications, etc., which will be forwarded to Client. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel.

ACCOMPLISH SYSTEM TESTING REPRESENTATION

The consultant will witness all segment commissioning activities, as detailed in the Daily Progress Report. Prior to testing, The consultant will review and approve all test procedures and pass/fail criteria. The consultant representatives will be present at all Cable Landing Station for up to one week for completion of segment commissioning. The consultant will review all test results and sign off all acceptance test certificates. The consultant will identify any non-compliant results and make specific recommendations regarding remedial actions to be taken. The consultant will liaise with Supplier to track any such non-conformances using Client Incident Reports or similar. Particulars the QA Consultant will undertake and scrutinize while witnessing Final Testing and Acceptance include the following: 1. Check-in with the Central Office Foreman every day. If Foreman says, “stop what you are doing” or “time to go home for the day,” do what Foreman asks. Ultimately, it is Forman’s facility. 2. Check-in with the Test Engineer. 3. Wear the required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times while on site; even if others in the party are not wearing theirs, e.g., safety sunglasses. 4. Be sure to attend the daily “toolbox” meeting and review the daily job procedure. Be aware of any hazards! 5. Take lots of pictures, especially if something is wrong. Get pictures of the BMH, OGB, duct bank, cable entrance, Cable Termination Unit, FO cable runs inside the Central Office, the ODF, ground bar, and test equipment setup. 6. Make sure the C-OTDR has a current calibration sticker (and the Megger if they do electrical testing). 7. Check to make sure the optical testing is at 1310nm and 1550nm and the range is appropriate for the segment length. 8. Identify the location of the spares, and get pictures, if possible. 9. Get names and positions of everyone on-site. 10. Make sure the test reports are dated and signed. 11. If something is wrong, point it out right away, but do not try to fix it. the vendor’s job is just to witness.

The purpose of the Confidence Trial Test Report Review is to identify any deficiencies discovered by The consultant within the system commissioning and acceptance operation of the client’s submarine fiber optic cable system. The consultant will provide Client with QA Consultant to witness on its behalf the Final System Testing and Acceptance of the system from one of the system Cable Landing Station. The QA Consultant will travel to the appropriate Cable Landing Station designated by Client. The QA Consultant will arrive on site in time for the completion of the marine installation and will witness the optical testing conducted on the system, between ODF panels, by Supplier. The QA Consultant will be responsible for the following: • Confirming the technical performance of the installed end-to-end system including the terrestrial sections, pursuant to Supply Contract requirements; • Verify that the Final System Testing and Acceptance plan is conducted in accordance with Supplier Quality Plan and any ISO 9001 requirements; • Verifying that the Final System Testing and Acceptance plan is conducted in accordance with Supplier’s optical safety procedures; • Verifying that the test results are consistent with Final System Testing and Acceptance plan and are within the specified tolerances; • If necessary, signing off any Test Reports required under the Supply Contract. The QA Consultant will leave the Cable Landing Station once the Final System Testing and Acceptance plan has been satisfactorily completed. He will attend a debrief meeting with Client. The consultant will validate the following: • Ready For Service (RFS) Report showing service within acceptable limits for the RFS trial period and that all requirements to put the service in to operation have been met • Copy of completed Commissioning Test Report which demonstrates test results are within parameters specified

ACCOMPLISH SEGMENT COMMISSIONING

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE 12. Send a daily report back to HQ so we know what you are doing. 13. BE SAFE. BE SAFE. BE SAFE! This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel.

ACCOMPLISH TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT COMMISSIONING

The consultant will witness the transmission equipment commissioning activities. Prior to testing, The consultant will review and approve all test procedures and pass/fail criteria. A Representative will be provided at applicable Cable Landing Station, the number of which will be dependent on the Supplier’s test procedure; however, test results will be collected from all locations with the cooperation of Supplier. The consultant will review all test results and sign off all acceptance test certificates. The consultant will identify any non-compliant results and make specific recommendations regarding remedial actions to be taken. The consultant will liaise with Supplier to track any such non-conformances using Client Incident Reports or similar. The consultant will determine what, if any, Client’s tests are required and ensure these tests are conducted. The consultant will review the commissioning test results and make recommendations regarding the need for additional testing, Provisional Acceptance of the System, or some alternative arrangement. The consultant will generate a draft provisional System Acceptance Test Certificate for Client review upon completion of the commissioning tests. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel. The QA Consultant will then upload the System Acceptance Test Certificate to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

PREPARE SYSTEM PUNCH LIST LOG

A System Punch List Log is accomplished by the QA Consultant detailing actions required for submarine cable system acceptance. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel. The QA Consultant will then upload the System Punch List Log to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

PREPARE ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR ACCEPTANCE

An Acceptance Checklist is accomplished by the QA Consultant detailing actions required for submarine cable system acceptance. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA

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Consultant personnel. The QA Consultant will then upload the Acceptance Checklist to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

PREPARE BACKBONE TRUNK CABLE GAP REGISTER

The purpose of the Backbone Trunk Cable Gap Register is to identify any deficiencies discovered by the QA Consultant within the gap register of the submarine fiber optic cable system. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel. The QA Consultant will then upload the Backbone Trunk Cable Gap Register to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

REVIEW AS-LAID RPL AND CHARTING

The purpose of As-Laid RPL And Charting Review Report is to identify any deficiencies discovered by The consultant within the marine installation and charting reports of the client’s submarine fiber optic cable system. The consultant will review the as-laid RPL, including BU, Repeaters and Cable Termination Assembly/UJ location and details of achieved burial and cable protection within Client leases. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field Marine Coordinator personnel. The Marine Coordinator will then upload the As-Laid RPL And Charting Review Report to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

REVIEW O&M PROCEDURES

The purpose of Operations and Maintenance Procedures Review Report is to identify any deficiencies discovered by The consultant within the system operations and maintenance procedures of the client’s submarine fiber optic cable system. The consultant will validate the Final detailed design documents, providing as-built details of Client Connections, which will include, but not be limited to: • End-to-end optical power and loss budgets from the Service Delivery Points on Client Offshore facility/Data Centers to the Cable Landing Station • Detailed network diagrams relating to the installation at Client facilities and Data Centers • Rack diagrams for all Supplier equipment • Environmental operating limits for all Supplier equipment • Optical power budgets on all Supplier equipment under normal and emergency operating conditions • Any operational requirements for Supplier equipment, including troubleshooting procedures • Details on how to perform safe shutdown and start-up of

Supplier equipment • Preliminary Maintenance plan, including Supplier equipment end-of-life/end-of-support information • Subsea equipment maintenance schedule and inspection procedures • Details on any planned outage maintenance schedule, if required • All HSSE related procedures, Material Safety Data Sheets, and equipment certification details on Supplier equipment • List of sparing on Client facility and detailed instructions for field replacement. If Client deems necessary, The consultant will review Supplier’ training program. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-office Marine Coordinator personnel. The Marine Coordinator will then upload the Operations and Maintenance Procedures Review Report to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

REVIEW SUPPLIER DOCUMENTATION AND TRAINING

The vendor’s QA Consultant will review and propose amendments for provisional drafts of Supplier’s documentation and the training course (including syllabi and material), all as submitted by Supplier. The QA Consultant will review and comment on the Documentation Deliverable Plan, Content, and Drafts. He will track documentation and training as part of Monthly Progress. The QA Consultant will provide recommendations for approval of final drafts of these materials. The QA Consultant will then upload the Supplier Documentation and Training Review to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

CLIENT JSMD REVIEW

The QA Consultant will provide support and assistance for the Cable System Technical Expert in reviewing the completed Client’s Joint System Management Document ( JSMD). The QA Consultant will review and provide high-level recommendations for potential improvements to the JSMD, the typical content of which may include: 1. Summary description of Cable System and backhaul networks 2. Allocation of O&M responsibilities and chain of decision-making 3. Cable protection policy 4. Description of faults which may occur in Cable System 5. Detailed description of Cable System components and configuration, including backhauls as required

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Details of all locations and staff involved in the O&M of Cable System, including personnel outside of Cable System Disposition, test, and replenishment of spares Engineering communication over Cable System Fault reporting, localization, and repair Maintenance Agreements Procedures and sequence of action to repair faults Procedures for access control to the various locations, also covering in detail colocation situations Reference documents including Supplier handbooks and company procedures Regular maintenance requirements Responsibilities of each Owner for the different areas of maintenance Safety Instructions and Procedures, notably for system powering and power reconfigurations Transmission and power feeding configurations (especially important on branched systems) Details and contact points of external interfacing entities for Cable System O&M

It will not be the QA Consultant’s responsibility to support specific development of the NOC, the NMS, its tools, communication facilities, or its procedures. The QA Consultant will then upload the JSMD Review to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving.

PREPARE SYSTEM COMMISSIONING AND ACCEPTANCE REPORT

The purpose of the System Commissioning and Acceptance Report is to identify any deficiencies discovered by Client Representative within the system commissioning and acceptance of the submarine fiber optic cable system. This effort is accomplished by the vendor’s in-field QA Consultant personnel. The QA Consultant will then upload the System Commissioning and Acceptance Report to the file sharing system for the purpose of distribution, retrieval, and archiving. STF KRISTIAN NIELSEN, Quality & Fulfilment Director. Kristian is based in our main office in Sterling, Virginia USA. He has more than 14 years’ experience and knowledge in submarine cable systems, including Arctic and offshore Oil & Gas submarine fiber systems. As Quality & Fulfilment Director, he supports the Projects and Technical Directors, and reviews subcontracts and monitors the prime contractor, supplier, and is astute with Change Order process and management. He is responsible for contract administration, as well as supports financial monitoring. He possesses Client Representative experience in submarine cable load-out, installation and landing stations, extensive project logistics and engineering support, extensive background in administrative and commercial support and is an expert in due diligence.

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE

OPTICAL NETWORKS IN CHILE Prepared For The Future

BY PATRICIO BORIC AND ITALO GODOY

1. INTRODUCTION

The geographical and topological characteristics of Chile constitute a great obstacle for the development of telecommunications networks. Indeed, its long and thin territory plus the extreme southern region full of fjords and channels are unmatched in the world. This article presents a summary description of the evolution of the telecommunications cable industry in Chile, from the installation of the first of them in 1852 to the current scenario where 99% of the inhabited territory will soon be connected through fiber optic cables.

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2. GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION OF CHILE

Chile has 19 million inhabitants and is in the south of the South American west coast, a country of middle income, with a territory of more than 4,100 km long with north-south orientation, and no more than 200 km wide at its largest part. The population is mainly settled along some 1,000 km located in the center of the country and presents a medium-high degree of digital development. The country is experiencing the effects of the pandemic and its pressure for more and better Internet connections, as everywhere.

3. BEGINNING OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN CHILE

At the beginning of the Republic, during the first half of the 19th century, the main economic activities were mining, agriculture, trade, and an incipient international trade by sea. For this reason, the first telegraph cable in the country was installed in 1852 linking the capital Santiago and the main port, Valparaíso. From that moment on, the deployment of telegraph cables did not stop and culminated well into the twentieth century with the “All America Cable” that linked Chile and the United States along the Pacific coast. An important milestone occurred in 1968 when the Longovilo Earth Station, the first in Latin America, was put into service, thus initiating the era of international satellite communications. Chile also built a national microwave and satellite network that allowed the beginning of the massification of telecommunications throughout the country.

FOA, a submarine project, and through the Fibra Óptica Nacional, FON project, a collection of terrestrial segments along the country. Thus, through public and private investment, Chile will have within a couple of years all its communes connected by fiber optics, a huge achievement given the geographic and topological conditions that the country presents. The long coastline of more than 4,000 km has favored the installation of submarine cables as well, which allow the mutual restoration with terrestrial cables to offer route diversity, robustness, and quality of service to the country’s telecommunications.

5. CURRENT SCENARIO

The market has developed in 2021 to levels of Santiago competition never seen before in Chile, characterized by the drop in prices of services for the population and the multiple operators present. In addition, the country has already award4. MODERN TELECOMMUNIed the 5G radio spectrum CATIONS throughout the national Starting in the late territory. 1980s, the Chilean marThe first fiber optic ket was opened to private cables installed early in investment, while the old the 1990s are near to the state-owned long disFiber optic network coverage in Chile end of life so that after tance and home telephone (Source: Undersecretariat of Telecommunications, Chile) completing the rural companies were privatized. connections, the country Thus, market conditions will probably have to begin a process of renovating the first were generated that attracted investments to build, as of optical networks. 1990, the first national and international optical networks, initially covering the most densely populated areas of the country. The first submarine fiber optic cable was the PanA- 5.1 FIBER OPTIC DOMESTIC NETWORKS, merican Cable in 1997, which connects Arica, Chile with SUBMARINE AND TERRESTRIAL the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, and countries The current situation of Chile appears in the following in between. diagram, in which the main routes currently used by the However, the less densely populated rural and remote different operators are shown in green, as a reference, and areas of Chile were left behind and were not connected are shown the domestic submarine cables and the fiber by fiber optics, their population counting only on mobile project FON. The country is divided into three main areas: telephony, data, and Internet services. Even though mobile North, Central, and South. services have achieved coverage of 99% of the inhabited Currently, there are seven telecommunications compaterritory over time, successive governments understood the nies that own optical networks covering these areas, totally importance of having a country also connected by fiber or partially: optics, in all inhabited urban and rural areas. In this way, 1. CLARO (América Móvil subsidiary) Network coveras of 2015, state subsidies became available to connect age: north and central the missing rural areas, through the Fibra Optica Austral, 2. ENTEL Network coverage: north, central, and south Main Routes

FON Project FOA Project

Prat Cable System

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

INTERNEXA: Network coverage: central, south MOVISTAR Network coverage: north, central, and south MUNDO PACÍFICO Network coverage: central, south GTD / TELEFÓNICA DEL SUR: Network coverage: north, central, south SILICA NETWORKS CHILE: Network coverage: central, south

Apart from these telecom companies, there are other optical networks owned by utility companies for their purposes (companies in the electricity, mining, and railway sectors), which are not described in this article. North Zone Three companies operate in this area and mutual restoration agreements have been signed between terrestrial networks to protect the traffic. In addition, these three companies jointly built an additional fiber optic cable between Santiago and La Serena via a diverse route. This cable has 96 fibers cable where each company owns 32 fibers. The Prat submarine cable owned by GTD is also another key player beginning its service and adding a fourth operator in the north area. Central Zone Five companies operate in this area providing connectivity services for the 5th and Metropolitan regions, and to Argentina. Several of them provide mutual backups or by their own means through rings by various routes. South Zone Six companies operate in the southern zone, three of them providing connectivity services between Santiago and Valdivia with mutual support agreements. The other companies own partial sections and use the networks of other operators to complete the connectivity in this southern zone. In addition, two companies connect Punta Arenas, Chile, and Río Gallegos, Argentina. Special mention is due to our two domestic submarine cables that cover the whole coast of the country: Cable Prat This is a non repeatered, festoon-type submarine cable owned by GTD, which connects 12 coastal cities in Chile, starting in the extreme north of Arica to Puerto Montt in the southern zone. In this city it is connected to the exist-

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ing submarine cables of GTD covering up to Coyhaique, passing through Chaitén and Chiloé. It has a total length of 3,500 kilometers and is composed of 36 fiber filaments with a capacity of 9.6 Tbps per pair of filaments. The installation of this cable was completed in 2020 and it is close to starting its commercial operation. FOA (Fibra Optica Austral) This a repeatered submarine cable that connects the cities of Puerto Montt (located 1,000 km south of the capital Santiago) with Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan (a city without a land route through Chilean territory), and with the town of Puerto Williams in the extreme south of the country, near Cape Horn. In addition, it has an intermediate bypass in Caleta Tortel, which will allow connectivity to various isolated locations such as Cochrane, Chile Chico, and Río Ibáñez through terrestrial networks. The total length of the submarine cable is approximately 3,000 km and it has two pairs of fiber optics. It was built through a subsidy from the Chilean government of approximately US $ 100 million and awarded the concession in its marine section at the end of 2017 to CTR company, completing its construction in 2020. Before this cable started operation, communications with the city of Punta Arenas at the southern end had to be conducted through Argentine territory or by satellite. FON (Fibra Optica Nacional) project The FON project recently awarded state subsidies for about US $ 120 million and will come into operation during 2022, for the deployment of about 10,000 kilometers of fiber optics in rural areas with low or no fiber coverage, which will benefit more of 3 million users from 203 communes from the Arica and Parinacota Region to the Los Lagos Region in the south. The main objective is to improve the digital connectivity of all the citizens of Chile. The project was divided into six macro zones, of which five were awarded to the company WOM and the sixth to Movistar.

5.2 INTERNATIONAL FIBER OPTIC LAND CABLES

Several crossings of the Andes mountains allow the optical connection from Chile to Argentina: • Punta Arenas – Río Gallegos, 2 cables • Coyhaique – Neuquén, 2 cables • Temuco – Junín de los Andes 1 cable • Osorno – Bariloche, 3 cables • Santiago – Mendoza, 2 cables • Santiago – Buenos Aires, 1 cable

In the northern part of the country, Entel owns two cables: Arica - La Paz (Bolivia) and Arica - Tacna (Peru), and Movistar has another Arica – La Paz optical link.

5.3 INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE FIBER OPTIC CABLES

There are currently four submarine cables that interconnect Chile with the rest of the world (one of them for the private use of its owner, Google), and there are at least two in a construction project, and another in the feasibility study phase. The cables currently in operation are: On the one hand, there are the oldest cables: PAN AM (PanAmerican), South American Crossing (SAC)/Latin American Nautilus (LAN), and South Americas-1 (SAm-1). The PAN AM cable was the first submarine cable in Chile and is close to its end of life. The second, SAC, is a ring along South America. The companies Lumen and Telecom Italia Sparkle participate in the ownership of this cable. In addition, ISA leases 2 lambdas of 2.5 Gbps. each to LAN Nautilus. The current capacity of the cable is 1.2 Tbps. The year of entry into operation was 2001 and its estimated date of termination of service is 2026. The overseas connectivity provided by Lumen in Chile is complemented by the land cables between Valparaíso – Santiago, and Santiago - Buenos Aires. The third of the oldest cables, SAm-1, is also a South American ring. The cable is owned by Telefónica through its subsidiary Telxius. The current capacity of the cable is 1.92 Tbps. The year of entry into operation was 2001 and the estimated date of termination of service is 2026. The overseas connectivity provided by Telxius in Chile is complemented by a 2,100 km terrestrial network link that connects Buenos Aires in Argentina with Valparaíso in Chile. Latest submarine cables and new projects: • Curie: This cable is owned by Google with landing points at the Equinix IBX data center located in El Segundo, Los Angeles (USA) and Valparaíso, (Chile), from where it connects to the Google data center in Quilicura, Santiago. The cable has four pairs of fibers and contemplates a potential future derivation in Panama; its total length is 10,500 km and a total capacity of 72 Tbps., of which the Telecom Italia subsidiary Sparkle, acquired rights to a fiber pair with a capacity of 19 Tbps. Its installation was completed in mid-2019, being the first submarine cable to connect to Chile in the last 19 years. • South Pacific Submarine Cable (SPSC) Mistral: The

construction of this cable was announced by the consortium formed by América Móvil and Telxius (a subsidiary of Telefónica) in mid-2019, and it will have an estimated initial capacity of 108 Tbps. with 6 pairs of fibers, and it will be ready this year. In its 7,300 km of extension, it will connect Puerto San José (Guatemala) with Salinas (Ecuador), Lurín (Peru), Arica, and Valparaíso in Chile. The laying of this cable has been completed very recently. • SAPL (South America Pacific Link): This new cable is a project by Ocean Networks, Inc., announced in 2016 to be operational in its first stage (Florida - Valparaíso), at the beginning of 2019, which has not happened to date. Its initial advertised capacity was 10 Tbps. To date, there is no clarity on the status of this project. • Humboldt Cable System: In mid-2020, the Chilean government completed the first phase of feasibility studies on a project for a submarine cable from the Pacific to Asia, opting for a 13,000 km route from Valparaíso (near the capital Santiago), to Auckland, New Zealand, and then continue to Sydney, Australia. Chile hopes to then be able to take advantage of the Australian submarine cables leading to Asia. The cable could include branches on the Chilean islands of Juan Fernández and Easter Island. The project is now in its engineering study stage of the selected route and should then lead to the tender for the construction of the cable. To date, two other countries in the region have confirmed their participation in the financing of this project, and they are looking for a strategic partner to begin its construction at the end of 2022, or the beginning of 2023.

6. DATA CENTER MARKET

The data centers market in Chile is made up of more than twenty companies that own infrastructure to offer services to third parties, in addition to about fifteen providers that offer services, but only through applications in the cloud, that is, without infrastructure. Within the first group, the following companies stand out (some of them with several buildings): ADEXUS, Lumen, CLARO, MOVISTAR, ENTEL, NETGLOBALIS, GTD, S&A, Hewlett Packard, SONDA, IBM, SYNAPSIS, SINTESIS. In addition, Huawei was recently added with a first data center inaugurated in 2019 and a second under construction; the North American company EdgeConneX, and the Brazilian company Ascenty; In addition, a data center of the also Brazilian company, Odata, is in the proMAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE cess of environmental permissions. Another large company that has announced a new data center in Chile is Oracle. Additionally, there are the private data centers of different organizations used for their purposes, without offering services to third parties. In this category, those of Google stand out, with a first data center in Quilicura since 2018 and a second under construction in the district of Cerrillos; These two data centers complement the Curie submarine cable of that company that connects Los Angeles, California with Valparaíso. Similarly, Microsoft announced late last year the implementation of a data center network in Chile and the creation of a new data center region in the country that will join Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure. Amazon company has postponed its decision on where to locate a data center for the southern cone, whether in Argentina or Chile. In any case, AWS announced last year that it would at least install an Edge Location in our country. Most data centers in our country are located in the metropolitan region, but recently some companies such as GTD and Silica Networks have built data centers in the southern part of the country. The start of the FOA cable operation together with the development of some scientific or academic applications could promote the construction of a data center in the Magallanes region, taking advantage of its proximity to Chilean Antarctica.

7. 5G DEPLOYMENT

The spectrum tender for 5G networks in Chile ended in February with US $ 453 million raised for the award of 1,400 MHz in total. In that tender, the new entrant company WOM was awarded 20 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 30 MHz in the AWS band. In the other two bands, WOM together with the incumbents Movistar and Entel were awarded each one 50 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band and 400 MHz in the 26 GHz band. Starting in May of this year, the deployment of 5G and the commitments of the compensation will begin. In addition to the commitment to deploy this technology in three years, the operators awarded with different bands must comply with the requirements that accompany the respective technical projects, which implies that in the first 12 months after the award, they will have to connect 100% of the primary hospitals. At 18 months, WOM, owner of the 700 MHz band, must have 100% of the connected rural towns that are part of the benefits of that spectrum, where a population of 322,000 inhabitants is calculated for each area, in 9,170 km throughout Chile. On the other hand, WOM, Movistar, and Entel, as

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winners of the 3.5 GHz frequency, will have to connect hospitals, ministries, regional and provincial capitals, as well as other areas of interest. The Undersecretariat of Telecommunications estimates that 5G investments will mean about US $ 4,000 million in the next 5 years to meet the technical requirements of the tenders, plus marketing. It is expected that in three years there will be a minimum deployment of 6,500 new antennas.

8. FUTURE SCENARIO AND CONCLUSIONS

Considering the described fiber optic trunk cable infrastructure, it can be assured that the country is well prepared to provide next-generation digital services in 99% of the inhabited territory. It is expected that isolated areas, often indigenous, will develop at a slower rate and will integrate into digital modernity more slowly. On the other hand, the urban population, already digitally integrated, does not stop demanding more and better digital services. The existence of fiber optic cables installed in this way, according to the technical specifications, following the best engineering practices, makes it possible to expect a network useful life of 25 years, during which several generations of optical transmission equipment will be developed, allowing a constant increase in bandwidth available on the network with each equipment update. In this way, the data center, internet, last mile, mobile and fixed telephony industries can develop on solid foundations, mounted on the available national and international, submarine, and terrestrial, fiber optic layers. On the other hand, the Humboldt project linking Chile - Oceania - Asia, will allow Chile to position itself as a digital hub for the entire Southern Cone and the rest of Latin America, also connected through the national and international optical infrastructure of the 21st century that we have described. STF PATRICIO BORIC was born in 1951 in Punta Arenas, Chile. He got an electrical engineer degree in Universidad de Chile in 1978. He worked for ENTEL Chile since 1975 up to 2003 in different positions of the Operations Division of ENTEL. Since 2004 he owns Zagreb Consultores, a consultancy firm in telecommunications. ITALO GODOY was born in 1960 in Rancagua, Chile. He got an electrical engineer degree in Universidad de Chile in 1988. He worked for ENTEL Chile during the 90’s and for Global Crossing from 2000 up to 2015. Oriented to design, construction, operation and maintenance of optical networks, terrestrial and submarine. Since 2016 he owns Submarnet, a consultancy firm in telecommunications.

FEATURE

RELIABLE SUBMARINE CAPACITY Why It Matters to Everyone NO INTERNET? NO WAY!

We all know what it feels like to suffer from intermittent coverage on our cellphone, or to experience unexplained dips in broadband speed at home. At best, it may be a minor inconvenience, perhaps the difference between a successful video call and a frustrating experience for all. On the other hand, the Internet pervades so much of modern life that it contributes significantly to business efficiency, innovation and a host of social benefits. Some people go further, arguing that access to the Internet is a human right. Whatever your view is on that, it is clear that network outages are more than just a nuisance – they can cause direct and significant economic damage. As an example, a 2016 report commissioned by Submarine Cables UK and the UK’s Crown Estate1 estimated that the value of submarine telecom cables to the country’s economy was £62.8bn per year ($86.9bn). Interruptions in service can occur at multiple points in the telecom network, but when a submarine telecom cable is impacted, the consequences can be extreme. The data capacity carried by a single long-haul submarine telecom cable is now in the range of hundreds of terabits per second, traffic which includes data center replication, social media updates, financial transactions, gaming data, and of course international phone calls.

BY RYAN WOPSCHALL AND SIMON WEBSTER Nevertheless, incidents do occur - there are around 200 submarine cable faults around the world each year. Where possible, much of the traffic is re-routed onto alternate cables installed on similar routes, under prior agreements between cable owners and other stakeholders. Many of the world’s largest Internet technology companies have built three or four cables on important transoceanic routes to be protected in case a cable is cut or damaged. Some coastal states however have yet to achieve that degree of resilience in their submarine network, and when those countries are hit by a cable outage, the whole population tends to suffer from poor connectivity and its economic consequences. For many years, Bangladesh relied on the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable as its sole international submarine network connection, and during maintenance work on the system had to use terrestrial links through India to maintain fiber connectivity with the outside world. This resulted in slow Internet speeds for most users, sometimes for periods of several days.

MORE CAPACITY?

Demand for international capacity is continuing to soar. TeleGeography’s 2021 Global Internet Map2 shows a 35% rise in international Internet capacity between 2019 and 2020. That figure is not an exact proxy for cable capacity MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE but is indicative of the trend. Fundamental reasons for continued growth in submarine cable capacity include the following: • User behavior drives capacity demand. The latest craze in the app space tends to generate ever more international Internet traffic, particularly if video-based. Of course, most video content will be cached close the end user, but first it has to be delivered around the world via submarine cables. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that live streaming video is not only possible, but also in some ways superior to air travel for conducting business. Many expect videoconferencing to remain a part of ‘business as usual’, particularly for long distance collaboration • Fulfilling capacity demand drives user behavior. In a virtuous cycle, the very availability of higher Internet bandwidths fuels the development of applications which demand them • New technology and new users. 5G is an example of technology, which is expected to launch a new wave of bandwidth-hungry, low-latency applications. Likewise, fiber-to-the home rollouts are reaching users in areas further from centers of high population density • New geographies are being served. As user demand grows, islands which have previously relied on satellite connectivity are increasingly recognizing the economic and social benefits of submarine cables. Recent beneficiaries of new submarine cables in the Pacific Ocean include the island nation of Palau, and Yap, one of over 600 islands making up the Federated States of Micronesia

MORE CABLES?

So why does the trend for more capacity necessarily translate into more cables? The business case and the optimum technical solution for each cable is different, but there are some underlying constraints looming. The following discussion applies to repeatered submarine cables, which make up the vast majority of the world’s submarine cable kilometers. Firstly, the maximum achievable transmission capacity per fiber pair is constrained by the well-known Shannon Law, which enumerates that maximum theoretical capacity for a given signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a communications medium, the op-

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tical fiber. In a repeatered cable system, the noise power is dominated by the optical amplifiers in the repeaters. Trying to increase the SNR by transmitting a higher signal power only works up to a point. Beyond that point, optical nonlinearities caused by the high intensity of the light in the fiber create additional noise, negating any benefit. As for the dry plant, coding and modulation advances in submarine line terminal equipment are leading us towards generations of transponders which approach the Shannon capacity limit for a given cable. Further innovation in transponder technology is possible, but large capacity gains are becoming ever harder to foresee. Another direction we could take is to increase the number of fiber pairs in a cable. Today, there are cables under construction containing up to 16 fiber pairs, and that figure is expected to rise to 24 fiber pairs shortly. But these are more recent developments being made by the world’s leading cable suppliers, and beyond these fiber counts, it becomes harder to be confident in future significant increases in fiber pair count. Packing fibers more densely into a limited space tends to result in increased optical attenuation, a disadvantage which generally outweighs the benefit of a higher fiber count. Developing a larger cable design would increase the internal space available, but require more materials, impairing the cost-effectiveness of this approach. Indeed, the trend in the last 20 years has been to reduce the external diameter of lightweight cable cores where possible. As the quantity of cable held on an installation vessel is limited, on longer cable systems the use of a significantly heavier cable will also require more ship loads. While higher fiber count cables are a response to the global demand for capacity on major transoceanic routes, consolidating so much capacity on one cable has and will continue

Figure 1: Percentage of Cable Faults Related to Different Causes4

a self-healing enterprise. Everything will continue to grow, to drive requirements for cable diversity and resilience. including more cables. Other technologies such as the use of the L-band, multicore fibers, and quasi-single mode fibers offer other ways to go. However, the candidates for the highest potential CAN CRITICAL CABLES COPE? gains in capacity are still under development. The March As a result, cable awareness and protection become even 2021 issue of Submarine Telecoms Forum contains a useful more critical as each cable carries a vast amount of data. comparison of these alternatives3. This underscores the very criticality of this infrastructure, Another significant constraint on transoceanic systems particularly for those countries, as mentioned above, that is electrical powering. Most telecom cables today have a may only have one or two international submarine cables withstand voltage rated at 15kV. For a given line design, the coming to its shores. However, the traditional mechanisms required end-to-end voltage drop across a single cable span that pose risk to cables are not changing, at least not at a scales linearly with the number measurable pace. of fiber pairs, and may approach Bottom contact fishing, the upper voltage limit in high such as trawling, accounts for fiber count cable. In some systhe majority of cable faults tems, it may be possible to split worldwide and cable awareness the powering of a long segment among fisheries has been at the by deploying intermediate power forefront of the submarine cable feed equipment at a mid-point industry for decades. This is the such as a convenient island, but predominant reason for armorthat is not always an option. If ing and burying cables down to cable purchasers wish to maindepths of 1,000 meters. Howtain the capability of single end ever, fishing vessels are pushing power feeding, a capacity limit is into ever deeper waters on approaching. continental slopes and modern Taking all the above considcables are being buried down to erations together, it is reasondepths of 1,500 to 2,000 meters able to speculate that meeting in some areas. continued demand for submaNext to fishing, vessel anrine capacity points to more cachors account for the largest bles being deployed. Key drivers amount of cable faults worldfor future deployments will be wide based on cable fault stathe need for route and landing tistics kept by the International site diversity, redundancy along Cable Protection Committee important geographic routes, (ICPC) since 1959. Cable and a continued demand for abrasion, dredging, and natural overall resilience of a network. events (geologic events such And it’s not just for a connecas submarine landslides and tion to the Internet. Consider turbidity currents) each acFigure 2: Example of a fish aggregation device (FAD) for a moment that the major count for 5% or less of the total builders of submarine cables all offer cloud-based services amount of cable faults each year. in the form of social media platforms, and personal and What is changing, however, is the number of seabed enterprise cloud storage and file sharing, among many other users. Offshore renewable energy continues to grow worldnetwork-dependent services. These services have permeated wide, with large areas of seabed being utilized in proximity our world in very useful and essential ways (the COVID-19 to submarine cables and having an impact on where future pandemic has shown us this). But as data is being creatcables can be routed as they approach shore. Deep seabed ed by all of the users around the world, both humans and mining, managed by the International Seabed Authority machines, that data has to be moved along a network and (ISA), is allocating large swathes of seabed in the North has to be stored as well. The virtuous cycle, in essence, isn’t Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans for exploration and MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

FEATURE exploitation of rare earth minerals5. And the United Nations is working on developing an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). And while these are large scale activities, small scale marine and seabed activities also exist. Fish aggregation devices (FADs) have always been known by the submarine cable industry as posing a risk to vessel navigation as well as an obstruction that should be avoided by submarine cables. However, as new routes are being developed, particularly where long-haul submarine telecom cables have never been routed before, FADs have surfaced as a substantial risk simply because of the interaction between them and cables. FADs have damaged cables in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, as well as the waters of Indonesia and the Philippines, among other locations. They are a risk to towed marine survey gear and to safe vessel navigation. Cables may be abraded against FAD mooring lines during deployment and may be damaged by the placement and movement of FAD anchors or clump weights. These risks can exist at the time of first installation and yet again at the time of any maintenance and re-deployment operations. When the broader risk beyond just the damage of a single submarine cable has to do with the uptime of an overall global network, the pressure to pay attention to the individual risks to the physical infrastructure increases. It is because of these traditional risks and increase in seabed users and other stakeholders that new and diverse routes, new landings, and new cables are being developed. And from a risk perspective, it would be reasonable to speculate that this will continue to occur irrespective of how much capacity a single cable carries. The ICPC has been at the forefront of addressing cable protection for sixty-two years. The organization has spent the better part of the last decade focusing on affiliate outreach with other organizations and stakeholders to broadly promote the awareness of cables. The ICPC’s annual Plenary, held in April or May of each year, is still a leading venue for the sharing of technical, regulatory and environmental information, knowledge, experiences, and best practices pertaining to cable protection at the planning, implementation, maintenance and decommissioning phases of the submarine cable lifecycle. The ICPC is actively engaged with the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) over topics relating to accurate charting of submarine cables in deeper waters, the

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United Nations pertaining to BBNJ, the ISA pertaining to deep seabed mining and the interaction with submarine cables and addressing changing or emerging risks to submarine cables through its Working Groups6. The future is unfolding before us and the ICPC, whose members represent 97% of submarine telecom cables, continues to pursue its vision of being the leading submarine cable authority on issues related to cable protection, reliability and security. Cable protection was a cornerstone objective of the organization when it formed in 1958 in the UK and if history is any lesson to us, there are bound to be more technological advances throughout the submarine cable supply chain for years to come. But where there is a need for capacity, there will be a need for cables. And where there are cables, there will be a need to protect this critical infrastructure through technical, regulatory, and advocacy efforts. After all, our remote, virtualized, and data driven world depends on it. STF RYAN WOPSCHALL is the General Manager of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), the leading international submarine cable authority providing leadership and guidance on issues related to submarine cable security and reliability. He has spent the last 15 years in the telecommunications industry focusing on international submarine and terrestrial backhaul network design and implementation where he has worked on over 30 projects at various stages of their planning and implementation lifecycle. Ryan is also the Founder and Principal of Wopschall Consulting, LLC, where he works with a select number of clients each year, helping them develop their network and build their infrastructure. SIMON WEBSTER is Director, Submarine Networks EMEA for NEC, and represents his company in the ICPC. He started in NEC’s cable business in 1998, and heads NEC’s interests for submarine cable networks and ocean observation systems in the EMEA region. He is also a Steering Committee member of the UN ESCAP Sustainable Business Network task force to advance cabled tsunami early warning systems in Asia. Simon has a degree in Physics from Oxford University, plus Master’s and Management qualifications from the University of London and Henley Management College respectively. NOTES 1 C. Elliott et al., “An Economic and Social Evaluation of the UK Subsea Cables Industry”, https://www.escaeu.org/download/?Id=363&source=documents 2 Global Internet Map 2021, https://global-internet-map-2021.telegeography.com/ 3 STF Issue 117, March 2021: S. Makovejs and J. Hedgpeth, “Fiber Technology for Subsea Networks” 4. M. Clare, “Cable Protection and the Environment, Issue No. 2, March 2021”, https://www. iscpc.org/publications/submarine-cable-protection-and-the-environment/ 5. International Seabed Authority, Deep Data WebMap: https://data.isa.org.jm/isa/map/ 6. ICPC Achievements, https://www.iscpc.org/about-the-icpc/achievements/

STAY CURRENT

play for offshore wind. Climate Change

While the telecom industry has been operating for quite some time and has made significant advances in our knowledge of benthic marine environments, climate change is one issue that we will have to face in conjunction with all offshore maritime industries and the wider world. The push for projects concerning environmental monitoring and communications is spreading throughout the industry, with a current focus on issues relating to marine megafauna and fisheries targets. Initiatives such as SMART cables and similar monitoring systems in offshore wind will go a long way towards narrowing existing knowledge gaps and ensuring that we have lengthy and reliable data records as our seas undergo this period of immense change. As mentioned previously, interdisciplinary initiatives such as ROSA will be integral in encouraging data sharing and data tracking as some common fisheries and conservation target species exhibit spatial and temporal distribution shifts. By working together, industry and local stakeholders can broaden our collective knowledge of how the oceans around us will be impacted by climate change related phenomena. As such, we can hope to mitigate issues to the best of our abilities and focus on nurturing sustainable growth of both telecom and offshore wind industries, keeping the world connected and providing reliable sources of clean, renewable wind energy. Similarly, collective knowledge on natural system faults, both for subsea cables and offshore wind infrastructure, will contribute to our understanding of how best to shift future engineering and operation innovations to cope with an increase in strength and frequency of inclement weather events and other climatic factors. Summary

those of public perceptions, will help to pave the way for community buy-in and long term success of these installations. In the past century and a half, humans have come to understand a significant amount about our oceans and how they function. Through the course of hundreds of subsea cable installations, the telecom industry has been at the forefront of uncovering benthic knowledge. Our understanding of seafloor hydrology, shifting sediments, ecological interactions, and even earthquakes and tsunamis has greatly increased. By taking what we have learned and applying it to the burgeoning offshore wind industry, we can best position ourselves to reap the rewards of an extensive renewables network while mitigating social, environmental, and ecological impacts. We have extensive local fisheries and communities networks, professional guard vessels and crews, broad knowledge of the marine environmental and applicable requirements and legislation, and, above all, we have a vision for long-term, sustainable success in harnessing our renewable natural resources for clean energy. To our partners in the offshore wind industry— we are ready and willing to help you reach your goals. Emma Martin is the Marine Systems Associate at Seagard. She has her BA in Biology from Boston University, USA and her MSc in Marine Systems and Policies from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She has performed marine field work around the world and looks forward to continuing to support maritime infrastructure developments.

Throughout both industries, a common theme is the importance of early and continued stakeholder engagement. “We stand by the idea that stakeholder engagement and outreach with other maritime users and operators is incredibly important,” Ryan Wopschall, ICPC GM states, “Raising awareness of subsea cables within the offshore renewable energy sector and encouraging developers and stakeholders to contact us in regard to new and ongoing projects will further facilitate safe and efficient use of marine resources and long-term protection of seabed infrastructure.” All marine users must be considered throughout project development, and these considerations, alongside

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HISTORICAL CABLE LOCATING (PART 1) BY PHILIP PILGRIM

Let’s find cables! Who can argue about a refreshing day at the beach? This issue’s Back Reflections kicks off the cable hunting series. It is based upon the report from an interesting chap on leave in 1943. He shows that with a little bit of historical background, it is fairly easy to find the old cables and cable stations. The upcoming articles will also focus on finding old cables. It is not that difficult. In fact, two of my friends each found cables from the 1800’s on beaches near their homes. We will go over these finds in detail in a future article so please stand-by. Until then, here is a teaser:

FINDING THE 1858 ATLANTIC CABLE LANDING STATION (IN 1943)

It seems that others have been searching for, and finding, old telecommunication installations for decades. The following scanned pages are from the notebooks of Dr. Cluny Macpherson. (thanks to the Digital Archives of Memorial University of Newfoundland). In 1943, Dr. Macpherson, a Newfoundlander from St. John’s decided to travel to the site of the first Atlantic Cable landing station in Bay Bulls Arm, Newfoundland. He lived in the relative vicinity but journeyed by boat up Trinity Bay to the remote site. In researching this article, Dr. Macpherson turned out to be a very important person. In addition to practising medicine,

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Cable on left was found by Chris Janson (Nokia), Cable on right was found by Kyle Hollasch (Cignal Ai)

he was the inventor of the modern-day gas mask. He had firsthand experience of the horrible chemical warfare having fought in WWI. He also served in WWII. Back to the 1858 Atlantic Cable Station in Bay Bulls Arm, Newfoundland. (Thanks to Bill Burns and Atlantic-Cable.

Dr. Cluny Macpherson, Phy

sician & Inventor (1879-1966)

com for the images). By December 1858, the cable station had expanded to two connected buildings, one for the backhaul and one for the submarine cable. In the summer of 1858, it was just one building. The site plan shows the “SLTE” and “Submarine Equipment Room”.

The cable at the window seems odd but that was how it was initially brought into the building. With this familiarization of the 1858 Cable Station, Dr. Macpherson describes exploring this site in 1943, which was addressed to B.D. Barnett, the VP of the Western Union Telegraph Company.

VISITING THE 1858 ATLANTIC CABLE LANDING STATION (IN 2019)

Janet and I visited the site with local residents, Roger Snook and Gerard Lynch. They are keen to have the site recognized for its historical significance and preserved. We had been communicating for over a year and finally met in “Tim Horton’s” meeting room at 8AM. We exchanged data that we had collected then set out to spend the next 6 hours exploring the cable station site and the beach. Foolishly I took very few photos on our first day and we were unable to return for a second day…but; we did have luck in making a few discoveries and finding interesting artifacts. Here are a few: Using Google Earth, we were able to place the cable landing station building where the ruins were. We also found the rock cribs of two poles nearest the station. These same poles are shown in the 1858 drawings so it was very special to know exactly where we stood. The rocks were only slightly protruding from

Dr. Cluny Macpherson’s Gas Mask (“Hypo Helmet” Prototype and Revised “PH Helmet”)

Looking North towards 185 8 Bay Bulls Arm Cable Landing Station and Centre Hill (350m)

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

BACK REFLECTION Looking East towards 1858 Bay Bulls Arm Cable Landing Station

the forest floor so we removed some top moss to verify what we thought they were. The cable route to the beach is now an ATV path. Perhaps the cable is still buried below. We did not disturb anything to keep it preserved for the archeological experts at Memorial University. As per Dr. Macpherson’s findings of “insulated wire,” we did find an unusual specimen of a cloth-covered steel wire with no copper. The core seemed to be of cloth with a rubbery material where the wires were placed. It was wrapped with cloth on the outside. We are unable to identify its function. We know that Gisborne started his 40-mile direct burial gutta percha terrestrial backhaul in this area in 1853

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1858 Bay Bulls Arm Cable Landing Station Site

but this sample does not seem to have gutta percha on the outside like in buried cables from 1855. It also lacks a central conductor or king wire. If any 1850 cable experts are out there, please contact me. Note that some images of buried telegraph cable used during the Crimea war appear similar in size but they seem to have gutta percha or a tared cloth on the exterior. Janet and I returned early the next morning to take some photos at the beach landing site. It was as if the waters and sky posed for these! STF 1858 Atlantic Cable Terminal (Cable runs along wall from the window towards the clocks)

PHILIP PILGRIM is the Subsea Business Development Leader for Nokia's North American Region. 2021 marks his is 30th year working in the subsea sector. His hobbies include "Subsea Archaeology" and locating the long lost subsea cable and telegraph routes (and infrastructure). Philip is based in Nova Scotia, Canada.

1858 Atlantic Cable Backhaul Terminal (3 Degree Node: 1 wire to St. John’s, 1 wire to NYC and a sheet of paper “regenerator” to the cable terminal room). OK there are cheesy potatoes too.

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

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Digitized Cable Sta

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tion Site

Torbay Cable Station “Ruins” Overcome by the Forest

Specimen of Buried Terrestrial Telegraph Cable c1855 (National Army Museum UK)

Unknown Buried Cloth Cable at Cable Landing Station

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

BACK REFLECTION

Looking dow

Centre Hill in the Distance

Looking up the arm (The cable station is on the other side of the hill with the building.

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n the arm w

here the cabl

e ships would

have anchor ed.

The cable landed and distant celebrations from St. John’s light the night sky.

1858 Cable landing at The Beach (by Kramer).

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

ON THE MOVE At the end of March, Telstra announced VICKI BRADY would take over as the new Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2022. Vicki has worked with Telstra for many years in a range of finance, commercial and strategy roles, and currently serves at the Chief Financial Officer. Telstra Chairman John Mullen says “Vicki has played a key leadership role in the development of Telstra’s T25 strategy and is well placed to lead the company through its next phase. She could not be more qualified to take over the reins to deliver on our T25 commitments.” Recently, PCCW announced TAMER EL GAZZAR would begin serving as the new Vice President of Sales for North Africa & Southern Mediterranean. Tamer has several decades experience in the industry having served PCCW for almost 8 years, and several almost a decade with Ooredoo previously.

SERGIO RUIZ was welcomed back by Tata Communications in April 2022 for the role of Senior Manager of Commercial Operations for Central and South America. He has a demonstrated history of working in the telecoms industry having worked previously with Tata for over a decade, as well as time at IDT Telecom and Lumen. PALLAVIA MISRA joined EdgeConneX in April of this year as their new Marketing Director of the Asia-Pacific region. With an MBA from HEC Paris and over 10 years of marketing and communications experience, Pallavi is passionate about building strong trusted brand profiles. She states her strengths are in creating effective integrated campaigns that encompass marketing, PR, difital, social and content elements.

HAVE A NEW HIRE YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF SUBTEL FORUM MAGAZINE? Feel free to send a direct message to Rebecca Spence on Linkedin or send the announcement to rspence@ subtelforum.com. 70

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SUBMARINE CABLE NEWS

NOW

CABLE FAULTS & MAINTENANCE

DATA CENTERS

Internet Outage in Indonesia Due to Submarine Cable Cut

Sparkle Opens Second Point of Presence in Fortaleza

Vietnam’s AAG Repair Complete

Inligo Networks Signs Agreement with Equinix DCs Asia Equinix Expands Singapore Data Center

FUTURE SYSTEMS Cayman Islands Government Awards Feasibility Study OAC Completes Final Landing in Barka Oman HMN Tech Partners with SEJA DIGITAL for Amazon River WIOCC Lands Google’s Equiano Cable in Nigeria Asia Direct Cable Has Landed in Vietnam New Undersea Cable for Nunavut Has Competition

MainOne to Expand MDXI Across West Africa team.blue Improves Offerings With Ciena DC Platform Telecom Egypt and AMS-IX Launch EG-IX CyrusOne Becomes Private Company After Buyout Global Cloud Xchange Partners with Equinix Second CLS Coming to Hong Kong

2Africa Wet Plant Has Begun in Genoa

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

Google is Moving Forward with Topaz Cable

EXA Infrastructure to Invest 190€ on Network Expansion

Prysmian Awarded SEALink Cable Project

ASN Receives Queen’s Award for International Trade 2022

PEACE Cable Lands in Kenya with Telkom

Fugro Receives World’s First MASS Certificate

Liquid has Acquired a Fibre Pair on Equiano Cable

AzerTelecom and Sparkle to Cooperate on the Digital Silk Way Project

Telconet & ASN Announce Construction of CSN-1

Telin Partners with Telekom Malaysia for Future Projects

Aqua Comms Announce 2 New Systems

MV Lida to be Retired by Mertech Marine

OPT Places First Buoy for Picot 2 in New Caledonia

HSI Agents Stop Cyberattack on Hawaii Submarine Cable

Google’s Equiano Cable Has Landed in Togo!

Laura Nelson-Cepeda Joins RTI Executive Team

PEACE Cable Lands in Seychelles!

Equinix Completes Acquisition of MainOne

Converge Takes Part in SEA-H2X Cable Bid

DE-CIX and Iraq-IXP Announce Partnership

CURRENT SYSTEMS

TECHNOLOGY & UPGRADES

Cyta Announces ARSINOE Cable is Now In Service

EASSy Cable Upgraded with Ciena GeoMesh Extreme

PEACE-MED Section of PEACE Cable is Live

PEACE Cable Doubles Capacity with Infinera’s ICE

Bulk Completes Terrestrial Portion of HAVSIL EllaLink and DE-CIX Announce Strategic Partnership

MAY 2022 | ISSUE 124

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SubTel Forum Magazine #124 - Global Capacity

Articles inside

WHERE IN THE WORLD

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