Finance & Legal Issue Issue 37 March 2008 Submarine Telecoms Forum is published bi-monthly by WFN Strategies, L.L.C. The publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the Welcome to the 37th issue of Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine, our Finance and Legal permission of the publishers. edition. Submarine Telecoms Forum is an independent commercial publication, serving as a freely accessible forum for profes- sionals in industries connected with submarine optical fibre Hearing from lawyers generally unnerves me; and with the general “excitement” in the worlds technologies and techniques. financial markets of late, I was really wondering what we would be talking about in this issue. Liability: while every care is taken in preparation of this But I am pleased to report that we have some really excellent, thought-provoking articles that publication, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the further push the limits of understanding as to where we are headed in our industry. 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. So, for your consideration: The publisher cannot be held responsible for any views expressed by contributors, and the editor reserves the right Glenn Gerstell discusses various financings of submarine fiber optic networks, while Doug to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for Burnett opines about repair of international cables under the UNCLOS treaty. Howard publication. Kidorf outlines the FCC IBC Fee as Andrew Lipman, Paul Gagnier, and Brett Ferenchak detail © WFN Strategies L.L.C., 2008 National Security Agreements as hurdles to submarine cabling landing licenses. Ken Weiner and Seth Davis illustrate some regulatory and environmental innovative techniques in cable Contributions are welcomed. Please forward projects, and Philip Roche and Daniel Perera anticipate jurisdictional issues arising from cable to the Managing Editor: damage claims. Robert Mazer shows the evolving financial market for subsea cables, and we reprise John Weisbruch’s excellent discussion of issues affecting system rights-of-way and Wayne Nielsen permitting. April’s ENTELEC Conference is also highlighted. Jean Devos returns with his WFN Strategies ever insightful observations, and of course, our ever popular, “where in the world are all those 21495 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 201 pesky cableships” is included as well. Sterling, Virginia 20166 USA Tel: +[1] 703 444 2527 Good reading, Email: [email protected]
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Gerstell 10-12 Entelec 21 Repair of International Cables Under UNCLOS Douglas R. Burnett 14-17 Global Marine Systems 32 Great Eastern 25 Happy Birthday ENTELEC! 19-20 Nexans 13 Cable Damage Claims: Jurisdiction Issues and Settlement OFS 6-9 Philip Roche and Daniel Perera 22-24 STF Advertising 47 Olympic Re-Lay: Innovative Techniques in Cable Projects with STF 2008 Cable Map 36 Regulatory and Environmental Dimensions Ken Weiner and Seth Davis 26-31 WFNS 5 Xtera 17 FCC IBC Fee: Damaging or Anachronistic? Howard Kidorf 33-35 National Security Agreements: A New Hurdle for Submarine Cabling Landing Licenses Andrew D. Lipman, Paul Gagnier, and Brett P. Ferenchak 37-39 The Evolving Market For Subsea Cables Robert Mazer 40-43 System Rights-Of-Way and Permitting – An Exercise in Patience John Weisbruch 44-46 Tracking The Cableships 48-52 Letter To A Friend Jean Devos 53 Upcoming Conferences 54 4 21495 Ridgetop Circle, Suite 201 Sterling, Virginia 20166 USA Tel: +[1] 703 444 2527 www.wfnstrategies.com Engineering of submarine and terrestrial optical cable, microwave/WiMax /WiFi, mobile, satellite and RF systems for commercial, oil & gas and government clients Bangladesh Government Will Allow Second Cable (Sunday February 24, 2008) The Bangladesh government has agreed to allow the private A synopsis of current news items from NewsNow, the weekly news feed available on the Submarine Telecoms Forum website. sector to build a submarine cable. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/24_february_2008.htm Akamai Selects Etisalat for Locating its Servers Alcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu to Upgrade in the Middle East (Saturday, March 08, 2008) SEA-ME-WE-4 (Saturday, March 08, 2008) Etisalat Carrier & Wholesale Services has announced Alcatel-Lucent and Fujitsu have announced that they will be Bangladesh Reduces Tariffs to Boost that Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leading global service upgrading the capacity of the SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable Internet Usage (Monday, January 28, 2008) provider for accelerating content and applications online, has system that connects numerous countries from Singapore to installed servers and agreed to leverage the Emirates Internet France. The Bangladesh government has reduced the tariffs for Exchange (EMIX) as part of providing services for customers submarine cable capacity by an average of 20 percent to reaching out to end-users in the United Arab Emirates, across www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/8_march_2008.htm boost usage of the multi-million dollar cable and raise Internet the Middle East, Africa and Asia. connectivity across the country. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/8_march_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm AT&T to Invest $1 Billion in Global Network and Services in 2008 (Saturday, March 08, 2008) Alcatel-Lucent Wins Tahiti-Hawaii Contract AT&T Inc. has announced plans to invest $1 billion in 2008 Batelco to Offer Refund to Customers Affected (Monday, January 28, 2008) to continue the expansion of AT&T’s industry-leading network by Internet Disruption (Sunday February 24, 2008) and portfolio of solutions for multinational companies with Alcatel-Lucent announces the signing of a turnkey contract operations and applications in key markets worldwide. Batelco has announced that, in view of the recent undersea with French Polynesian operator Office des Postes & cable damage that caused inconvenience for Internet users Télécommunications (OPT). www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/8_march_2008.htm from Egypt, across the Middle East to India, and its customers in Bahrain, it will credit their customers’ Internet accounts with www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm 50% of their monthly rental broadband charge. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/24_february_2008.htm 6 C&MA Signed for I-ME-WE CTC’s Volantis to be used on ConocoPhillips LoFS Huawei Submarine Networks Appoints (Sunday, February 10, 2008) Test Cable Project (Wednesday, February 13, 2008) Industry Veterans to Senior Management Team (Monday, January 28, 2008) Nine major international carriers have signed a formal CTC Marine Projects Ltd (a subsidiary of DeepOcean ASA) Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) in Rome has announced that its newbuild vessel Volantis will enter into Huawei Submarine Networks Co., Ltd. has announced the to build a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable that service on the ConocoPhillips Ekofisk Life of Field Seismic appointment of four new members to its senior management stretches from India to France via the Middle East. (LoFS) Test Cable project, mobilised with CTC’s UT-1 and team at the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) annual PT-1 spreads. meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/10_february_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/10_february_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm CTC Receives Contract Award From Cecon (Friday February, 15, 2008) GO selects Alcatel-Lucent/Elettra Consortium I-ME-WE Consortium Selects for Malta-Italy Cable (Monday, January 28, 2008) Alcatel-Lucent (Sunday February, 17, 2008) CTC Marine Projects (a DeepOcean ASA subsidiary) has recently been awarded a contract with a value of approximately Alcatel-Lucent has announced that it has been selected, in Alcatel-Lucent has signed a turnkey contract with a consortium GBP3 million by Cecon ASA. consortium with Elettra -- a Telecom Italia Group company composed of nine operators to deploy a new submarine cable specialized in survey, installation and maintenance of network linking Mumbai in India to Marseilles in France, over www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/17_february_2008.htm submarine cable networks -- for a turnkey project with GO approximately 13,000 km. p.l.c. (GO), Malta’s leading telecom operator, to deploy a new submarine network between Malta and Italy. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/17_february_2008.htm CTC Receives Contract From COOEC www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm (Wednesday, February 6, 2008) CTC Marine Projects (a DeepOcean ASA subsidiary) has recently been awarded a contract with a value of over GBP3 million by the China based Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC). www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/10_february_2008.htm 7 Internet Service in UAE Fully Restored Nexans Announces JV with India’s Polycab Pacific Crossing Limited Appoints (Sunday February, 17, 2008) (Sunday February 24, 2008) Tom Casey Chairman (Sunday February, 17, 2008) Etisalat has announced complete restoration of UAE Internet Nexans has announced it has signed a draft agreement Pacific Crossing Limited (PCL) has announced the appointment links and start of normal Internet traffic following confirmation with Polycab, the Indian leader in the cable industry, for the of Tom Casey as its new chairman of the board. from its international service providers FLAG Telecom and creation of a joint venture that will be majority-held by Nexans SEA-ME-WE-4 on completion of repairs to their damaged and managed in close cooperation with its Indian partner. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/17_february_2008.htm cables. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/24_february_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/17_february_2008.htm Pacific Telecommunications Council Announces Theme for PTC’09: Collaborating for Change Nexans Wins Power Cable Contract Matrix Networks and Tyco Telecommunications (Tuesday, March 04, 2008) in Thailand (Sunday, February 10, 2008) Begin Main Lay Construction of Submarine Collaborating for Change is the selected theme for the 31st Cable System Connecting Indonesia and Singapore Nexans has been awarded an 8 million Euros contract by annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (Monday, March 10, 2008) the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD) (PTC) to be held 18-21 January 2009 in Honolulu. to supply 33 kV submarine cables for a project providing a www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2008.htm Matrix Networks Pte Ltd and PT NAP Info Lintas Nusa, together number of new power interconnections between islands in with its supplier, Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit the Krabi Province in southern Thailand, on the shore of the of Tyco Electronics and an industry pioneer in undersea Andaman Sea. communications technology and marine services, today www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/10_february_2008.htm announced the start of construction of the main lay portion of PIPE Networks Reports on PPC-1 Progress the Matrix Cable System. (Monday, March 3, 2008) www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/8_march_2008.htm Australia’s PIPE Networks has issued a progress report on its PPC-1 submarine cable project. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2008.htm 8 Project Runway Is Cleared for Take Off Shetland-England Power Cable “Possible” VSNL Restores Internet Services (Monday, January 28, 2008) (Monday, January 28, 2008) within 24 Hours (Sunday, February 10, 2008) PIPE Networks Limited has announced it has now signed An undersea cable taking electricity from Shetland and India’s VSNL confirmed that the company restored a majority sufficient contracts with keystone customers for the Board Orkney to southeast England is viable, according to a new of its IP connectivity into the MENA region within 24 hours of to approve the construction of a 6,900-kilometer, $A200 report by the Crown Estate, which said such a project would the Egypt cable breakdown on Thursday. million undersea cable system linking Sydney, Australia to the be economically and technically possible and may ultimately communications hub of Guam with a spur connecting Madang, connect Scottish green energy projects to Europe. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/10_february_2008.htm Papua New Guinea, referred to as PPC-1. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/28_january_2008.htm WFN Strategies to Host Upcoming Oil & Gas Fiber Workshop (Wednesday, March 5, 2008) Unity Cable Announced, NEC and Tyco Telecom SEA-ME-WE-4 Repaired Win Supply Contracts (Monday, March 3, 2008) WFN Strategies recently announced that its Director of Projects, (Sunday February 24, 2008) Guy Arnos, will be hosting a design workshop for submarine A consortium of six international companies has announced cable systems at the upcoming ENTELEC Conference in Although it was not announced widely at the time, SEA-ME- that they have executed agreements to build a high-bandwidth Houston, Texas on Thursday, 10 April at 2:30 PM. WE-4 was brought back into service on February 9, nine days submarine fiber optic cable linking the United States and after it and FLAG’s FEA cable were cut off Egypt, causing Japan. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2008.htm a major outage for Internet users in the region and fueling numerous conspiracy theories. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2008.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/24_february_2008.htm WFN Strategies to Supervise ADONES Cable System Roll-out (Monday, March 10, 2008) Verizon Goes to Mesh Network on Pacific Submarine Cables (Monday, March 3, 2008) WFN Strategies has recently announced the contract award by Angola Telecom for the provision of supervision support of Verizon Business has deployed a technologically advanced the ADONES submarine cable system. network configuration on the transpacific portion of its global network to provide more diverse routes to benefit large- www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/8_march_2008.htm business and government customers. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2008.htm 9 The importance -- and fragility -- of the subsea the financial resources to sustain the massive cable network was recently highlighted by damage investments necessary – industry growth will in to four undersea Internet cables last month -- two large part rely on the availability of debt or equity in the Mediterranean Sea and two in the Persian financing from outside the industry. Gulf. For days, Internet service in large portions of the Middle East was disrupted, cutting 70% of The Role of Debt Providers Egypt’s connectivity, and leaving India’s large outsourcing industry at only half capacity. This article focuses on capital raising in the form of debt, specifically from commercial banks. Even This disaster comes at a time when the subsea before the current “credit crunch” emerged, neither industry is well into another building cycle, following traditional equity markets, nor the debt capital several painful years of underinvestment and markets, provided an easily accessible option. disinvestment. Unlike the fiber cable boom of the Once the credit markets more available, commercial late 1990s when most investment was speculative, banks, with their large credit staffs and, in some the recent surge in cable development is a result cases, significant experience in the sector, will be of actual demand for greater capacity – driven in in the best position to evaluate submarine cable part by the mainstream use of bandwidth-intensive projects. Commercial banks are often willing to Web sites like YouTube and Google Earth. Still, accept the construction risks associated with these the effects of the last fiber boom linger in the form projects and have the ability to provide funds for the of skepticism and caution. For example, business short to medium term (typically up to ten years), by plans must be linked directly to end-user revenues, which time a project could become profitable and replacing speculative systems of the last fiber capable of refinancing or repaying its debt. boom. Demand for connectivity has become less U.S.-centric, with the result that new cable systems Several factors add to the risk profile as viewed are connecting areas – such as within the Asia- by commercial banks, including the sheer size of Pacific region as well as the Caribbean, the Indian the debt, uncertain revenue forecasts, alternative Ocean, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America capacity through satellites and competing cable -- where revenue forecasts are not predicated on systems, and, of course, the continued march of solid historical data and thus benefit from higher technological progress that could render submarine confidence levels. cable systems obsolete sooner than expected. Finally, overall project risk on any particular This building boom in the subsea cable industry installation is still not insignificant, given the and expansions and upgrades of existing cable complex and increasingly stringent environmental, The Building Boom and systems will, however, not come to fruition unless permitting and other regulatory requirements, as the Need for Financing adequate funding is available. Given that much of well as capacity constraints currently affecting the activity is centered in the developing world – cable-laying ships. where many operators and sponsors do not have By Glenn S. Gerstell 10 Offsetting these impediments are a number of The participants in a project financing often include by local law, which may prohibit assignment, and developing trends. While commercial banks offer equipment vendors, because they are in an contractual rights are difficult to collateralize and the best source of financing in the near term, the excellent position to supply the “early money.” They collect on, especially if a company has declared equity and debt markets remain in the wings. have the sophistication and industry expertise to bankruptcy. Moreover, private equity investors have begun to evaluate project risk, and no other financing source recognize that the submarine cable industry has will be as knowledgeable at the pre-revenue stages Invariably, a creditor’s response to the challenges the potential for significant returns. Acquisitions by of a project. Multilateral institutions (such as the of obtaining (and potentially enforcing) a lien on private equity can spur consolidation and greater World Bank and its affiliates) and export credit a submarine cable company’s assets is to seek a network investment, as newly acquired companies agencies or “ECAs” are also increasingly willing to pledge of its shares of capital stock where possible. expand their business under new management, promote communications infrastructure (as evident Clearly, this will be inappropriate in the case of and other operators react to a now well-capitalized in their current support of Project EASSy in Africa). a public company and difficult where minority competitor. Those institutions are often willing to lend in high shareholders are involved. Moreover, by its very risk circumstances where commercial banks will nature, a pledge of shares is effectively subordinate Structural Options for Financing not, their interest rates will usually be lower than to creditors at the operating level, since the shares commercial financings, and they typically have can reflect only the net worth of the company. Still, Obviously, the financing needs of submarine cable a more lenient approach to waivers and default a pledge is simpler to create and affords ease of operators will vary, and their position in the market scenarios. However, social policy and development foreclosure since it carries with it not only the varied will dictate different approaches. It is likely that goals of those institutions often impose additional assets but also licenses, permits, contract rights the financing of submarine fiber optic networks reporting and compliance costs. and other intangible property on which it might be will continue to rely heavily on project finance difficult to obtain a lien. techniques in large part because the project Project finance also has unique costs that should finance structure affords an excellent mechanism be evaluated. Project financings are highly Another set of issues grows out of the corporate for addressing the risks and difficulties present in structured and have substantial transaction costs. structure of the borrower. Historically, there start-ups and new installation projects. It should be Costs and risks are shared across and among have been two types of submarine cable owners: noted, however, that owners of submarine systems sponsors, vendors, lenders and investors and traditional consortia of telecom operators who use that are “investment grade” will always have the the significant amount of debt that must be raised the system for their own traffic and speculative option for financing network expansions on their for large projects entails a higher amount of risk, models that rely on sales to third parties. In own balance sheets. which is often apportioned among several tranches the latter model, the sponsor generally seeks of debt. The complexities involved contribute to to minimize taxes by establishing the principal A key advantage of the project finance route is the longer lead times to complete the financing and to cable owner in Bermuda or another tax haven, ability to leverage the financing to a higher degree begin construction. Financing is further complicated with separate entities, in their own jurisdictions, than might be possible or desirable on an owner/ by the problematic nature of the collateral security owning cable assets or furnishing services. The sponsor’s balance sheet. The non-recourse nature interests since there is no single facility that can be sheer number of corporate entities presents the of project finance debt, in which the shareholder/ mortgaged; the real value is inherent in the network same challenges as in any financing, as lenders sponsor is not liable for the debt incurred by the itself. This is exacerbated by the fact that cables need to track cashflows and dividend streams operating entity, means that the debt does not that lie in international waters are not subject to through the corporate labyrinth and seek stock burden the sponsor’s balance sheet. any collateral scheme, landing rights are governed 11 pledges of multiple companies in many countries. These restrictions, the multiple layers of financing, Glenn S. Gerstell The traditional model, generally structured as and the significant amount of debt required, result is the managing a consortium of telecom companies, obviously in an effective prohibition on incurring further partner of the diversifies risk and affords a range of expertise but debt. A strong “fully-funded” business plan that Washington, DC lenders may have to be reassured that there is a will generate sufficient revenue to repay the debt office of Milbank, meaningful way to hold each sponsor accountable financing is thus critical. Tweed, Hadley for its obligations. & McCloy LLP, Conclusion and heads the Requirements for Financing firm’s global in Today’s Debt Markets There is good news and bad news in the current communications picture for financing in the submarine cable practice. He has Whatever the form of the financing, submarine fiber industry. There is significant demand for capacity been especially optic network projects will need to be structured to and the industry is confident that its worst days are active in the meet today’s realities. Business plans will need to behind it. Even with new supply, growth in demand submarine cable be “fully-funded” and lenders should be expected will at a minimum stabilize bandwidth prices and sector, having to scrutinize both the creditworthiness of any in all probability cause prices to increase. Still, the advised lenders, vendors and system operators customers that account for a significant percentage creation, operation and maintenance of subsea in project financings, acquisitions and large of the business plan. Commercial banks and cables presents a range of complex business risks. capacity commercial arrangements. A partner in capital market investors will typically discount a No one financing source or model is available to Milbank since 1985, he has served in the firm’s project’s revenue projections by 10% or more, to absorb these risks and meet the extraordinary New York (1976-80), Washington (1980-88) be conservative, and want to verify that even in a capital requirement of the industry as it returns to an offices, and was the managing partner in the reasonable worst-case scenario, revenues will be expansion mode. Rather, multi-sourced solutions firm’s Singapore (1988-89) and Hong Kong sufficient to repay the debt. to financing, with several debt providers over the (1989-96) offices. Mr. Gerstell is the general life cycle of a project will be increasingly seen. By editor of Telecoms Project Documentation, Lenders may also require covenants for debt service combining financing and equity ownership models published by Euromoney. A frequent speaker at coverage ratios and leverage ratios, restrictions on in new ways, and tailoring financing precisely to legal and business conferences, he is also the new business activities or investments beyond what particular risks and problems, the industry will author of numerous articles on legal topics. He is specifically contemplated in the current business be able to meet its financing needs. While the served as Adjunct Professor of Law for several plan, and limits on the payment of dividends; and increased complexity and current “credit crunch” years at Georgetown University in Washington, they will typically insist on a debt service reserve (hopefully of limited duration and intensity) will pose DC. He is a graduate of Columbia University account, which would be funded with at least six unique challenges for all project participants, the School of Law (JD, 1976, Harlan Fiske Stone months’ (sometimes a year’s) worth of projected situation may have a silver lining. The complexity scholar) and of New York University, University debt service payments. Lenders will expect strong of financing and the current caution of lenders Heights College of Arts and Science (BA cum sponsor support of the projects. Sponsors will could help temper a repeat of the boom-bust cycle laude, 1974). likely need to demonstrate a debt-equity ratio in of the late 1990s and help create an environment the 50-50 or perhaps 60-40 range, with the equity for stable growth. funded up-front. 12 scanpartner Trondheim Trondheim Foto: SPOT og Getty Images Getty og SPOT Foto: arine dep ubm ths, t s Nex A ans goes deeper Erik Rynning Sales & Project Manager Offshore: “We produced the so far world’s deepest umbilical which was installed at 2350 metre in the Gulf of Mexico.” Nexans was the first to manufacture For further information please contact: Telecom: Oil & Gas: and install a 384 fibre submarine Nexans Norway AS Rolf Bøe Jon Seip P.O. Box 6450 Etterstad Phone: +47 22 88 62 23 Phone: +47 22 88 62 22 cable. Nexans has qualified and N-0605 Oslo Norway E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] installed their URC-1 cable family for Phone: +47 22 88 61 00 fibre counts up to 384 fibres. Fax: +47 22 88 61 01 "ECAUSE SO MUCH OF YOUR PERFORMANCE RUNS THROUGH CABLES 'LOBAL EXPERT IN CABLES AND CABLING SYSTEMS Repair of 2006, wherein 18 faults were recorded on 19 cables and communications were not fully restored for 49 International days underscores that time is always of the essence when a cable requires repair.3 Cables Under UNCLOS Second, unnecessary costs are incurred. The costs include permit costs, requirements that cable owners hire approved “guard boats” (State owned By Douglas R. Burnett or controlled), and other expenses. Increased hire payments to cable repair ships also result. Third, and most important, all of these extraterritorial requirements must be recognized for what they are: infringement and unjustifiable interference of cable owners rights to maintain its cable in international waters4. UNCLOS provides for these rights. Besides monetary costs and increased risks to communication security by impeding efficient repairs, the escalating and encroaching nature of extraterritorial control is especially troubling for future cable maintenance. The cable owner’s right to maintain international cables under UNCLOS. Permits for repairs to international communication cables outside of territorial seas violate UNCLOS. These actions infringe upon the cable owner’s rights to maintain the cables and constitute unjustifiable interference with the same. In recent years there has been a disturbing trend degrades the world’s undersea communication The relevant UNCLOS articles are 58, 78, 5 trend of coastal States to impose permit requirements network for several reasons. and 79 , set out and discussed below: on the emergency repair of international cables, First, because of permitting delays, emergency 3 Press release of the International Cable Protection Committee including repairs which take place outside of a nation’s repairs are delayed. Cable ships stand by when they Ltd, dated March 21, 2007. www.iscpc.com 4 The ability to maintain robust, reliable, and resilient communi- territorial sea, normally 12 nautical miles (NM) from should be carrying out repairs. If during the permit cations worldwide for customers depends upon observance by all nations of the coastal baseline. These are examples of coastal delay period, the cable were to suffer another fault in international law requirements set forth in UNCLOS. When one nations fails State encroachment on the rights and obligations of another segment, communications could be lost on the to comply with these international norms, a negative precedent endangers universal compliance by other coastal States which compromises interna- 2 cable owners under the United Nations Convention cable. The Hengchun earthquake of December 26, tional communications. on the Law of the Sea (1982) (“UNCLOS”).1 This 5 These articles evolved in most respects from the International 2 Modern cable systems employ ring architecture. Ring architec- Convention for Protection of Submarine Cables (March 14, 1884), 24 Stat. ture allows a cable system to restore its service almost immediately upon a 989, 25 Stat. 1424, T.S. 380 (entered into force for the United States on May 1 154 States and the EU are parties to UNCLOS. The United States fault on one segment of the ring system by automatically rerouting the traffic 1, 1888. (“Cable Convention”); the Geneva Convention on the High Seas has been a signatory since 1994, but the U.S. Senate has not scheduled a vote direction through the other segment of the ring system. Ring systems are (Apr. 29, 1958), 13 U.S.T. 2312, T.I.A.S. 5200, 450 .N.T.S. 82 (entered into on ratification in the fourteen years that have passed since the President sent used in high-capacity fiber optic systems, because satellite restoration of an force for the United States on September 30, 1962( (“High Seas Conven- to convention to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent. On October 31, injured cable system is no longer feasible. When one segment of the ring tion”), and the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 15 U.S.T. 473, 2007, following extensive hearings, the Senate Foreign Relations Commit- system is no longer available pending repair, the cable is at high risk because U.N.T.S 7302 (entered into force for the United States on 10 June 1964). tee voted 17-4 to send the Convention to the full Senate for its advice and a fault in the other ring segment will effectively shut down all communica- (“Continental Shelf Convention”). consent. tions on the cable until repairs are completed. 14 Article 78. Legal status of the superjacent waters for the exploration of the continental shelf, by which the freedom of the high seas enjoyed by all and air-space and the rights and freedoms of other the exploitation of its natural resources and States includes the freedom to lay cables.10 States the prevention, resolution and control of Paragraph 2 further expands the freedom of pollution from pipelines, the coastal State States to carry out “maintenance” of existing cables.11 1. The rights of the coastal state over the may not impede the laying or maintenance of Paragraph 2 goes on to require that coastal States “may continental shelf do not affect the legal status such cables or pipelines. not impede the laying and maintenance of such cables.” of the superjacent waters or of the airspace The only qualification of this mandate is in connection above those waters. 3. The delineation of the course for the laying with the coastal State taking reasonable measures for of such pipelines [but not cables] on the the exploration and exploitation of natural resources12 2. The legal exercise of the rights of the continental shelf is subject to the consent of and the prevention of pollution. None of the cables coastal State over the continental shelf must the coastal State. involved are in any way involved with the exploration not infringe or result in any unjustifiable and exploitation of natural resources, and injury to a interference with navigation and other rights 4. Nothing in this part affects the right of the cable does not cause pollution.13 Therefore, a coastal and freedoms of other States as provided for coastal State to establish conditions for cables State has no basis for its impeding the maintenance of in this Convention. or pipelines entering its territory or territorial the cable systems by imposing permits, delays, fees, sea, or its jurisdiction over cables and pipelines and guard boat requirements.14 Paragraph 2 reiterates a consistent UNCLOS constructed or used in connection with the principle that coastal States must recognize the rights laid down by this Convention and by other rules of international law. It exploration of its resources or the operations comprises, inter alia, both for coastal and land-locked States: (a) freedom of and freedoms of other States that are provided in the of artificial island, installations and structures navigation [and] (c) freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines, subject Convention. It emphasizes that, in the exercise of its under its jurisdiction. to Part VI [Continental Shelf] ‘[Freedom of [n]]aviation will include . . .the movement and stationing of ships to lay and maintain submarine cables.” rights over the continental shelf, a coastal State must Dupuy-Vignes, A Handbook on the New Law of the Sea, Vol. 2 (1991), Chap- not infringe or cause unjustifiable interference with 5. When laying submarine cables or pipelines, ter 17 at 845. (This chapter was written by Judge Tulio Teves of Italy, pres- navigation and other rights and freedoms of other States shall have due regard to cables or ently a judge on the International Law of the Sea Tribunal.) 10 Nordquist, supra. at 915 [79.8(a)] States as provided in Convention, and [t]he categoric pipelines already in position. In particular, 11 Id. [79.8(b)](“’laying’ refers to new cables . . while the term character of this obligation is emphasized by the use possibilities of repairing existing cables or ‘maintenance’ relates to both new and existing cables.” Repair is an obvious 6 part of maintenance of a submarine cable system. of the words “must not.” The reference to “other pipelines shall not be prejudiced. 12 Article 77 defines natural resources as limited to mineral and rights and freedoms of other States” includes rights non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil and living organisms of the 7 The ordinary meaning of Article 79 is that sedentary species. regarding submarine cables. The rights and freedoms 13 Article 79 reflects the careful compromise of the parties which of submarine cables are set out in Article 79. repair permit actions on telecommunications cables were involved in its negotiation. China proposed that “the delineation of the by coastal States outside of its territorial seas as course for laying cables and pipelines in the seabed of the economic zone is 8 subject to the consent of the coastal State.” See Report of the Committee on Article 79. Submarine Cables on the Continental described above are not authorized under UNCLOS. the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of Shelf. Paragraph 1 affirms, in a form appropriate for the National Jurisdiction, Vol. V, General Assembly, Official Records, Twenty- 9 eighth Session, Supplement No. 21, (A/9021) A subsequent proposal by continental shelf, the provisions of Article 87.1(c) Denmark was adopted, however, which limited the coastal State’s power to 1. All states are entitled to lay submarine pipelines only, in recognition of the fact that a ruptured pipeline could result cables and pipelines on the continental shelf, 8 “A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with in pollution while a ruptured cable has no such result. See Nordquist, supra. the ordinary meaning to be given to terms of the treaty in their context and in 914 [79.7,n.8]; Dupuy-Vignes, A Handbook on the New Law of the Sea, Vol. in accordance with the provisions of this the light of its object and purpose.” Article 31, Vienna Convention n the Law 2 (1991), Chapter 18 at 985, n.37. ( This chapter was written by L. Dolliver article. of Treaties (23 May 1969). The context of UNCLOS includes its Preamble M. Nelson of Grenada, the Chairman of the committee which oversaw draft- which recognizes “the desirability of establishing through this Convention ing of the submarine cable provisions in UNCLOS.) . . . a legal order for the seas and oceans which will facilitate international 14 The official position of the United Nations on this issue, set out 2. Subject to its right to take reasonable measures communication.” Perhaps no part of UNCLOS better carries out this object by its Legal Affairs of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea,, than its articles dealing with submarine cables. See Articles 21.1(c), 51.2, 58, is instructive. It says “beyond the outer limits of the 12 nm territorial sea, the 6 Nordquist, United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea 78, 79, 87.1(c), 112, 113, 114, 115, and 297.1(a) which fulfill the object and coastal State may not (and should not) impede the laying or maintenance 1982 A Commentary, Vol. II, (1993), at 906 [78.8(c)] purpose of facilitating international communication. of cables, even though the delineation of the course for the laying of pipelines 7 Id. at 907 [78.8(d)] 9 Art. 87.1(c) “The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal [not cables] on the continental shelf is subject to its consent.” or land-locked. Freedom of the high seas is exercised under the conditions 15 Paragraph 3 involves two separate cables and pipelines, and compatible with the to the activity explicitly recognized as free, such as considerations: (1) the right of the coastal State to other provisions of this Convention. cables over an activity not explicitly recognized.19 establish conditions for cables or pipelines entering This is consistent with the objects of UNCLOS to its territory or territorial sea; and (2) the jurisdiction 2. Article 88 to 115 and other pertinent rules “facilitate international communication”20 and that a over cables that are constructed or used in connection of international law apply to the exclusive coastal State may not exceed its powers in the EEZ.21 with natural resources, artificial islands, installations, economic zone in so far as they are not and structures under its jurisdiction. The second item incompatible with this Part. Conclusion does not apply to telecommunication cables. With 3. In exercising their rights and performing their respect to the first item, this is a direct function of UNCLOS, as discussed above, does not duties under this Convention in the exclusive the coastal State’s sovereignty over its territory and allow coastal States to require permits for repairs economic zone, States shall have due regard territorial sea. Repairs beyond 12 NM are entirely of international telecommunications cables beyond to the rights and duties of the coastal State and outside these areas. Since paragraph 3 allows coastal territorial seas. The question then becomes, what shall comply with the laws and regulations States the right to delineate the route of pipelines steps can cable owners do to challenge this recent adopted by the coastal State in accordance and not cables15, coastal States have no authority to trend in coastal State encroachment on the traditional with the provisions of this Convention and require permits or impose conditions that infringe and rights of cable owners to repair and maintain their other rules of international law in so far as cause unjustifiable interference with a cable owner’s cables. they are not incompatible with this Part. freedom to carry out maintenance of its cables. (Art. One remedy is for cable owners to enlist the 79.2) Paragraph 1 is explicit that the freedoms listed support of their national governments to intercede Paragraph 5 underscores this point with its in Article 87 including navigation, which includes the with the offending States and take diplomatic action express provision that the “possibilities of repairing stationing and movement of cable repair ships,16and to prevent this encroachment. If this avenue does existing cables....shall not be prejudiced.” This “the laying of cables including the internationally not work, UNCLOS provides for dispute resolution provision is specifically cross-referenced in Article lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms, such between the State whose nationals are injured by the 112., which applies this limitation on coastal States to as those associated with the operation of . . .submarine offending State. In fact, submarine cables disputes are all cables on the high seas. cables,” are recognized in the EEZ.17 Maintenance specifically addressed in Article 297.1a. A discussion and repair are lawful operations associated with the of the UNCLOS procedures for enforcement of Article 58. Rights and duties of other States in the operation of cables.18 Paragraph 2 explicitly applies cable owner rights is beyond this article, but they are exclusive economic zone. Articles 112 through 115, which deal comprehensively efficient and fair. with cables in the EEZ. For United States cable owners, unfortunately, 1. In the exclusive economic zone all States, Paragraph 3 limits the ability of the coastal this procedure does is not available, because the United whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy, subject State to enforce laws and regulations in the EEZ States Senate has not provided its advice and consent to the relevant provisions of this convention, to those measures that are not incompatible with to UNCLOS. While the overwhelming number of the freedoms referred to in article 87 of Articles 58.1 and 58.2 as described above. The issue Senators are in favor of UNCLOS, a small group navigation and overflight and of the laying of compatibility is in essence a competition of those has been able to stall a vote, even though the Senate of submarine cables and pipelines, and other activities in the EEZ that are free on the high seas (i.e., Foreign Relations Committee approved UNCLOS for internationally lawful uses of the sea related to cables) and those for which the coastal State enjoys these freedoms, such as those associated with 19 See, supra. at n.9 at 872-873. In this chapter, Judge Teves rec- sovereign rights (i.e., EEZ fishing). A reasonable ognizes two caveats to this priority interpretation. The first is the protection the operation of ships, aircraft and submarine of human life. The second is a determination that the two activities cannot interpretation is that that priority should be given co-exist. In normal submarine cable repairs protection of human life is not See response to Question #7, Frequently Asked Questions, at U.N. Website 16 See, supra at n. 9. involved. The two activities cannot co-exist as the ability to maintain subma- accessed at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISATIONANDTREATIES/ 17 See, supra at n.10, at 872. rine cables is significantly compromised to the point that cable owners suffer frequently_asked_questions.htm 18 In contrast, the Article 87 freedoms of fishing and marine scien- damages and its communications are impeded and placed at risk. 15 Id. tific research are not included. Nordquist, supra. at 564 [58.10(a)] 20 See, supra. at n. 9. 21 See, Nordquist, supra. at 565 [58.10(e). 16 a vote by the full Senate. For U.S. cable owners, one very practical step would be to express their concern to the U.S. Senate and urge an up or down vote on UNCLOS. With the United States a party, U.S. cable owners will be able to join the rest of the cable industry in resisting attempts by coastal States to encroach upon the traditional freedoms cable owners enjoy under international law. Douglas R. Burnett practices primarily in the areas of telecommunications (submarine cables) and international and maritime law litigation and arbitration in the New York office of Holland & Knight LLP. His clients include major telecommunication companies with international cables, major energy companies in dispute involving transportation, commodity contracts, and admiralty claims involving petroleum products, LNG, and LPG, deep water ports and ocean terminals. Mr. Burnett is the International Law Advisor to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), an international organization of over 70 administrations and commercial companies from 40 countries owning or operating submarine cables. In this capacity, he advises members of their rights and responsibilities under international law and associated treaties and national legislation regarding undersea telecommunication cables. His unique experience includes litigation in numerous cases in U.S. and foreign courts concerning internationally protected submarine cables. 17 200 exhibiting companies and over 50 hours of training seminars scheduled. We’re expanding the Happy Birthday ENTELEC! number of seminars on Wednesday and Thursday to offer a greater variety of topics for our attendees. In addition, we’ve added more seminars and training classes to our Friday morning schedule. ENTELEC 2008 is the premier event for professions in the oil, gas and electrical industries.” Educational highlights The 2008 Conference & Expo event will feature educational sessions in SCADA, Power and Telecommunications technologies. The conference tracks have been developed to help attendees determine which sessions will be the most beneficial to their field. “We wanted our attendees to easily differentiate between the session topics this year,” states Blaine Siske, ENTELEC Executive Director. “With more training seminars than ever before, our goal is to provide attendees with a conference schedule that pertains to their interest and industry. The Technical Presentation topics include: “SCADA Protocol Analyzer and Tech-Tools at El Paso Corporation”, “FCC Licensing 102: Licensing The Energy Telecommunications and Electrical 9th at 9:00am. While demonstrating his amazing SCADA Systems”, “Trends in Deployment and Association (ENTELEC) will celebrate its 80th talents and speed of tire changing, Spalding will Utilization of Utility Fiber Networks”, “Designing birthday April 9-11, 2008 at their annual Conference inspire attendees with a motivational discussion on a Pipeline Control Center for the 21st Century”, & Expo. This year’s event will take place at the teamwork, drive and mental preparation. and “ Upgrading Legacy Two-Way Radio Control George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Systems with LAN/WAN Network Capability.” Texas. Building on the success of previous year’s shows, Presentations will be given by companies such this year’s event has more exhibits and educational as: El Paso Corporation, Sprint/Nextel, GE MDS, In celebration of its birthday, this year’s Conference seminars for attendees. “ENTELEC’s 2008 Shell, Telvent and Alcatel-Lucent to name a few. & Expo theme will focus on “Racing to the Future”. Conference & Expo features more exhibitors and Terry Spalding, tire changer for NASCAR Nextel more extensive industry training and educational The Friday Training Sessions have been developed to Cup #19 Dodge driven by Elliott Sadler, will be events for attendees,” says Robert Bliss, offer more educational and networking opportunities the Opening Keynote Speaker on Wednesday, April ENTELEC’s President. “We currently have over 19 for attendees. The third annual SCADA and IT Exhibit Hall continental breakfast, sponsored by Rockwall Communications Roundtables will take place on Automation, will allow attendees to mingle prior Friday morning. The roundtable discussions allow Over 200 manufactures, dealers, and distributors to the Opening Keynote address by Terry Spalding. attendees the opportunity to converse with industry will showcase their products and services at this On Thursday morning, Keller and Heckman host the colleagues on topics related to their fields. The year’s event. After successful shows at the Hilton attendee breakfast prior to the annual Washington SCADA Roundtable occurs from 8:00am – 10:00 Americas Hotel in 2006 & 2007, ENTELEC made Report. Both Continental breakfasts begin at am and the IT Communications Roundtable takes the decision to move its exhibit hall to the George 8:00am in Ballroom C. place from 10:00am – 12:00pm. R. Brown Convention Center to provide more space to the growing number of exhibitors. “As the show A networking reception will be held from 4:00pm In addition to the roundtable discussions, several has continued to grow in both size and number of – 5:00pm in the Exhibit Hall for exhibitors and training sessions will also take place on Friday exhibitors it was necessary for us to move to a larger attendees. The free event features cocktails and morning. Berkana Resources will follow-up location in Houston, “states Siske. “The George appetizers for all participants in the hall. It’s a great their 2006 & 2007 discussions with “SCADA R. Brown will allow for an easier move-in for our opportunity for guests to discuss the day’s events and Security Issues; Beyond the Hacker Threat”. exhibitors while also allowing us to continue adding and topics of upcoming sessions as well as areas of A widely attended session in 2007, this year’s more companies to the show floor.” professional interest. presentation focuses on SCADA security issues. “Grounding Practices for Communication Sites” Networking Opportunities With all these offerings, the show will provide presented by Transtector Systems is a course attendees with even more compelling reasons to While time in the classroom and walking the exhibit th designed for the communications professional return to Houston for the 80 Annual Conference & hall will keep most attendee’s schedules packed, Expo. Professionals interested in more Conference whose job responsibilities include working with the ENTELEC Conference & Expo also offers AC and DC power systems located at but not & Expo information, or membership information many opportunities for attendees and exhibitors to for ENTELEC can visit their website at www. limited to Central Office, MTSO, Cell and GPS socialize. sites. The Gas Certificate Institute will present their entelec.org Gas Measurement Fundamentals class. The class On Tuesday, April 8, attendees can network with gives an overview of the issues related in providing fellow industry professionals at the opening accurate gas measurement. Welcome Reception, sponsored by GE MDS, being held at the Hilton Americas Hotel. The theme of The annual “Washington Report’, given by Jack the evening is “NASCAR’ and will feature racing Richards of Keller and Heckman LLP, will take machines that allow attendees to race each other place on Thursday morning at 8:30am. Richards in competition. The free event, which includes delivers the latest news and developments from cocktails and light hors d’oeuvres, is designed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), provide all show-goers with a relaxed way to share regulatory and political activities coming out of their ideas and insights with one another. Washington DC. Continental breakfast and networking lunches will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Wednesday’s 20 ENTELEC 2008 OFFERS: • A unique Conference & Exposition designed specifically for energy racing to the communications and IT professionals from petroleum, pipeline, utility, municipalities, environmental and related energy industries FUTURE Celebrating 80 years! • Networking with peers and colleagues throughout the event • Exhibits featuring the latest products and services • Original papers focusing on three core areas of the industry: SCADA, Telecommunications and Power Infrastructures. Papers are delivered by key personnel including represen- tatives from Shell, El Paso Corp., the Department of Homeland Security, Keller and Heckman, Freewave Tech- nologies, Sprint/Nextel, and Microwave Data Systems. We’re “racing to the future” at this year’s ENTELEC Conference and Exposition! Don’t miss your chance to gain insight and knowledge on key issues facing the energy, telecommunications, and electrical industry! Conference: April 9-11 • Exhibits: April 9-10 For complete details on the event and online registration or membership George R. Brown Convention Center • Houston, Texas information, visit us at www.entelec.org or call 888-503-8700. 21 easily evidenced. of a claimant’s costs, and all have different It will also be approaches to the conduct of a claim. necessary to consider where exactly a claim may Once a comparison of the available be brought. jurisdictions is complete, the cable owner should commence proceedings in its Usually, there will be no direct (contractual) favoured jurisdiction in order to ensure that relationship between the cable owner and the claims will be handled there. If it fails to do so responsible party, but the vessel will have a swiftly, the shipowner may win a “jurisdiction Subsea duty of care not to damage property such as race” by commencing proceedings first, in a By Philip Roche andc Daniel a b l Perera e s the cable. Claims will usually be brought in jurisdiction that favours the ship owner, such occasionally tort, a civil claim for loss and damage for an as seeking a declaration that its vessel was sustain damage act done wilfully or negligently in breach of not responsible for the damage. Once that Cable Damage Claims:caused Jurisdiction by vessels. Issues and the Settlement duty of care. action is underway, it will be very difficult for Whether the damage results a cable owner to bring claims elsewhere. from a trawler’s nets snagging Jurisdiction the cable, or whether it is severed by Security But where may such a negligence claim be an anchor, the result is the same: a cable brought? It is possible that the courts of Another early consideration must be to which needs repairing; loss of service; and an more than one country will have jurisdiction secure the claim. There is no point fighting inevitable battle to recover costs and losses. to hear claims - especially if the break was an expensive legal action if, at the end of it, Finding the vessel causing the damage and in international waters. Which courts have there is no asset against which to realise the obtaining compensation is easier said than jurisdiction may be determined by the judgement. The cable owner may take steps done. This article considers jurisdiction for location of the damage; the nationality of the to arrest the responsible vessel while it is in a cable damage claims and examines when parties involved; where the ensuing losses suitable jurisdiction. There are, broadly, two settlement would be an attractive option, were suffered; or the vessel’s flag state. types of jurisdiction in this respect. If the vessel rather than pursuing claims in court. Where there is more than one jurisdiction is arrested in the ports of certain countries Immediate considerations available, the benefits of bringing claims in then the claimant is limited to bringing his each of those possible jurisdictions should claim in the courts of that particular country. Immediately after a break is detected it is be carefully examined. Some may allow a The act of arrest determines the jurisdiction of vital that the cable owner should take steps shipowner to limit its liability, which would be the claim proceedings. In other jurisdictions, to identify the vessel responsible. Cable disadvantageous to a cable owner if losses such as South Africa, a claimant may arrest owners must ensure that evidence of losses are high, and some more easily allow a the vessel in South Africa but then fight the and receipts for repair costs and associated claimant to defeat the owner’s right to limit substantive claim elsewhere- a so called expenses are retained so that a claim may be liability. Others do not allow for recovery ‘security only” arrest. The need for security 22 and the ability to obtain it has to be balanced vessel and, for instance, any recent repairs In addition, there is the risk that the claimant against the requirement for a favourable needed to its anchor brake, may also prove is not actually able to prove its case on the jurisdiction. It is often a tough decision and useful. In civil law jurisdictions, a court balance of probabilities. This litigation risk one which requires the help of experienced surveyor is likely to be appointed to make is often more significant than claimants maritime lawyers. investigations into the cause of the damage. appreciate as the claimant has a series Until a good case can be made that the of hurdles to overcome. Failing to clear Once a decision to arrest has been taken, shipowner will be held liable as to the cause any one of these hurdles may mean the when the ship enters a suitable port, for of the damage, such shipowner is unlikely claim fails. Negotiated settlement seeks to instance Durban, local South African lawyers to consider settling claims at a reasonable circumvent litigation risk and the costs of are instructed to ask the local court to arrest level. proceedings. A claimant would often do best the vessel for the damage. The lawyers will to offer the defendant a small discount for need evidence to put before the courts and, When liability for causing the damage is early settlement (representing time and cost if persuaded, the court will order steps to either admitted or it is clear that it could be savings and litigation risk), bank the cash be taken to prevent the vessel from leaving evidenced in court, defendants may consider and bring a swift end to the dispute. until sufficient financial security is provided. settling the claim, but persuasive evidence Shipowners are generally willing to provide must be provided proving the quantum of Settlement by mediation security, such as a bank guarantee, quickly the claim: the amount of loss and damage as the vessel is losing money when tied up suffered. A negotiated settlement saves the If one to one settlement negotiations fail, the in port. When agreeing the terms of the claimant the management time, effort and claimants should consider mediation as a security, cable owners should ensure that the expense of conducting court proceedings. method of reaching settlement. Mediation shipowner agrees that all claims arising out The defendant is also spared the same may be effective when liability is admitted, of the damage will be dealt with by the courts time, effort, expense and risk, which may be but quantum is disputed. In contrast, it is not of the cable owner’s preferred jurisdiction. reflected in the settlement figure. as useful when a question of fact, such as liability, is disputed. That question may have Bringing the Claim Claimants should also consider the costs of to be resolved before a court if the parties litigation. In jurisdictions such as England, cannot agree. When it is disputed by a shipowner that its the legal principle is that the losing party vessel caused the damage, court action, or the pays the winner’s costs. However, it is Mediation is a meeting, between the claimant threat of, is often the only option. In England rarely the case that a claimant can achieve and the defendant, assisted by a neutral third or the U.S., where there is a lack of evidence, full recovery of such costs. Often, actual party “mediator” - a go-between - in order to Court action may allow the claimant to obtain recoverable litigation costs are approximately bring the parties to a mutually acceptable evidence within the defendant’s possession, 60%, meaning that a successful claimant will solution. Mediation is confidential and without such as that pertaining to the location of the still have to bear 40% of its legal fees and prejudice to parties’ legal positions, meaning vessel at the time of the incident. Disclosure expenses. In some jurisdictions, no recovery that negotiations cannot be adduced before of documents evidencing the condition of the of costs at all is possible. court if the mediation fails. English courts 23 are keen for parties to achieve their own commenced. However, very often, if a good use of bills of lading and carriage of good by settlements and, in some instances, courts case is made, then settlement is achievable, sea. He is also is a visiting lecturer on marine have imposed cost penalties upon parties avoiding the stress and costs of litigation. insurance on the MSc course in Shipping who rejected mediation. There are various ways in which settlement Trade and Finance at City of London Cass may be achieved, and options such as Business School. The Mediation Process mediation should always be considered. A mediator will provide a candid assessment Daniel Perera is an Associate in Norton of the facts, as seen by a neutral observer, Rose LLP’s Maritime, Trade and Energy and highlight strengths and weaknesses in dispute resolution group, having joined as a parties’ cases. If the claimant has strong trainee in 2003 and qualified with the firm as evidence that the defendant caused the Philip Roche is a Partner a Solicitor in 2005. Daniel was also admitted damage, and losses are easily evidenced, in the maritime, trade as an Attorney-at-Law in the state of New the mediator is likely to point that out. If and energy dispute York in 2006. Within the Maritime, Trade weaknesses in a party’s case exist, it is often resolution group at our and Energy dispute resolution team to date, beneficial to recognise these at an early office in London. He Daniel’s experience includes assisting with stage, rather than in a courtroom. Because served in the Royal Navy arbitration hearings, charterparty disputes, of its neutrality and confidentiality (litigation as a seaman officer for cargo claims, collisions and damage caused is a public process), mediation may be an 11 years. On leaving by vessels, speed and consumption and attractive option for both parties in dispute the Navy, he qualified as a solicitor with demurrage claims and regulatory issues. in order to reach an acceptable and cost- us in 1995 and worked in Piraeus until Daniel is a member of the firm’s international effective settlement. Mediators do not have 1999. Philip has a wide experience of all arbitration group and he also has experience any legal power, so any agreement reached aspects of shipping and marine insurance, of assisting with energy, commodities and at mediation should be recorded by way together with considerable experience of international trade-related matters within the of a settlement agreement which may, if commercial arbitration and litigation. He team. necessary, be enforced before courts at a has attended casualties worldwide and has later date. particular expertise in pollution matters, offshore energy and cruise/ferry incidents In summary and disputes. Philip advises ship owners and cargo owners on bill of lading issues and When a cable is damaged by a vessel, disputes including outturn damage, shortage recovering for loss and damage suffered claims, contamination claims, spontaneous may be more difficult than imagined. Early combustion of coal cargoes and cargo and effective legal advice will be required on insurance issues. Philip advises a number jurisdiction and security and the evidence of oil and energy companies on the practical gathered so that a court action can be 24 Shallow Water Turnkey Solutions For Fiber Optic Cable Systems From Shallow Water Installations To Terminal Station Design & Fabrication www.greateasterngroup.com By Ken Weiner Olympic Re-Lay and Seth Davis regulators want reliable assurances that cables that are required to be buried beneath the seabed to avoid conflict with other uses of the seabed, are in fact buried and remain buried.. Moreover, all key interests, owners, contractors, regulators, commercial fishing interests, and First Nations that have protected fishing rights in the project area, want to participate in decisions. Recently, all three of these techniques (recovery and relay of existing cable, touchdown monitoring (TDM), and multiparty on-board decisionmaking) were applied to a single repair project in an environmentally sensitive area: the PC-1 Remediation Project in the U.S. Olympic Innovative Techniques in Cable Projects Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington with Regulatory and Environmental Dimensions State. The use of all three techniques on one project would have been unusual in the past, but, for future projects, it might not be unusual for one or more to be required. Each technique was Reprinted with permission from K&L GATES-NERA play during recent years. The earlier cables needed successfully employed in the PC-1 remediation GLOBAL TELECOM REVIEW (2008 Edition) maintenance and sometimes reinstallation because project. At the same time, the participants in this of natural causes or to achieve better protection from precedent-setting project identified limitations of Think back to the fiber optic “Space Race” of the “external aggression,” like snagging from fishing these techniques and improvements that might be 1990s when competing companies raced across activities. Meanwhile, global interest in security, employed in future projects. This article explains the globe placing cables to capture markets for ocean and marine conservation, fisheries, and how each method was used and the lessons learned broadband technology. Like the real Space Race, aboriginal rights resulted in increased regulation.1 for those contemplating using these methods for this spin-off technology has been as important as New fiber optic cable projects for other projects. or perhaps more important than the original goal. telecommunications along with cables used New projects—from broadband to wave energy— for scientific research and conventional and A. Pr o j e c t Ba c k g r o u n d and maintenance on existing facilities must now renewable energy development are now being The PC-1 remediation project involved the recovery apply techniques that have emerged from the past planned or already underway. However, these of approximately 120 kilometers of the PC-1 East decade’s installations. This article discusses the second-generation projects are being reviewed, and North cable systems and the re-laying of successful use of three of these techniques on approved, and installed in a different regulatory the same cable on a slightly modified route in an a recent fiber optic submarine cable remediation climate than for earlier cables. It is common, for attempt to improve the burial method. The work project in the Pacific Northwest. example, to find that cable owners and contractors was performed in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and in As the fiber optic market cooled down want to reduce costs by reusing existing cable the Pacific Ocean in and adjacent to the Olympic and reorganized, interest began to grow in other rather than purchasing expensive new cable. Also, Coast National Marine Sanctuary (the Sanctuary). roles for submarine cables, such as energy and 1 See Weiner, “Ecological Considerations Affecting Offshore Fa- scientific uses. Two other factors also came into cilities” in the Preston Gates Guide to Telecommunications in Asia, Pacific Telecommunications Council and Preston Gate Ellis, 2006 edition. 26 1. Operations background The Settlement Agreement included a account for real-time inspection and, if necessary, The remediation work was performed by Tyco Remediation Protocol developed by the parties to prompt resplicing of recovered cable, observation Telecommunications (U.S.) Inc. (Tyco) under specify the requirements for the remediation work of the seabed to improve the subsequent cable contract to Pacific Crossing Limited (PCL), the and this burial report. The Settlement Agreement reburial, and initial and final bights to minimize owner of the PC-1 cable. Tyco subcontracted also required the parties to agree upon a final splicing and avoid disturbance in the marine with Global Marine Systems for additional support Remediation Plan with additional detail prior to sanctuary. vessels and equipment. The Tyco Cable Ship the commencement of operations. The final Tyco and PCL agreed on a protocol for Dependable, a Tyco Resolution-class cable ship, Remediation Plan was approved on June 30, inspecting the marine cable. The procedure included used an MD3 plow. The Global Marine Wave 2006. The parties agreed that the Remediation assigning designated on-board representatives Venture performed the TDM and PLIB operations. Plan would be the definitive document containing who were on call 24/7 to inspect any cable that Each vessel used a similar ROV for its operations the requirements for the operations. “MOP 3” is the exceeded a defined trigger for cable armor damage. (ST 200 series). The Remediation Plan provided for portion of the Remediation Plan that provides the This occurred several times during cable recovery. on-board representatives of the U.S. Government, detailed operational requirements and performance In each case, the representatives agreed that the Makah Tribe, PCL, and Tyco (the parties). criteria. The combination of regulatory scrutiny, damage was superficial and further testing was not environmental sensitive areas, and potential necessary. The regulators agreed that this decision 2. Regulatory background fishing conflicts led to the use of these techniques. would be left to the owner and contractor as they PC-1 was originally installed in 1999–2000, after As noted above, these techniques are applicable had sufficient economic incentive not to reinstall environmental review and permitting by federal, to a range of submarine cable projects. defective cable. In addition, Tyco augmented its state, and local agencies. Subsequent seabed splicing team on board the cable ship to be able to recovery monitoring performed by NOAA as part B. Ca b l e Re c o v e r y a n d Re l a y respond promptly to any splicing requirements. of its permit indicated that portions of the cable Prior to the PC-1 Remediation Project, few One of the key issues in debating whether were at or above the seabed. At NOAA’s request, projects recovered and reused more than 100 the remediation project would re-lay the entire cable PCL performed additional surveys and submitted kilometers of cable in a single project. Whether through the marine sanctuary and the Tribe’s fishing a revised Cable Burial Assessment Report (ERM for repair, remediation, or a new installation, cable area was the suitability of the substrate for cable 2002, referred to as “CBAR”). As a result, the is expensive. Broadband cable typically costs burial. The original 1999 installation report indicated federal permitting agencies and the Makah Tribe upwards of $25,000 per kilometer. It is also usually hard substrate in a number of areas that prevented expressed concern about the cable burial in the manufactured to certain specifications, so the burial to the target depth of one meter. As part of vicinity of the Sanctuary. Under a comprehensive ability to recover and reuse cable can be far less the remediation planning, a supplemental marine settlement agreement, dated November 4, 2005, expensive and faster than ordering and purchasing survey was performed to identify route adjustments among PCL, Tyco, the Makah Tribe, and the U.S. new cable. in softer substrate to improve burial. However, the Government (Settlement Agreement), the parties The logistical planning was also complicated substrate at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca agreed on a remediation project to recover and re- by other factors. As noted, a key reason for the is variable, so additional observation during cable lay PC-1 in the vicinity of the Sanctuary.2 project was to address Tribal and regulatory recovery would be helpful. During the recovery, concern over insufficient burial and cable thought substrate conditions were often apparent during 2 For purposes of the Settlement Agreement, the U.S. Government to be damaged by rocks or external aggression observation of the cable condition. For example, refers to the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, U.S. Army Corps of En- very clean armor corresponded with buried cable, gineers (ACOE), and U.S. Department of Justice as counsel to Commence, from fishing, which regulators in turn were NOAA, and ACOE. The U.S. Government designated NOAA as its represen- concerned would then necessitate frequent repairs while areas with intermittent marine life (or on one tative for purposes of remediation project operations. NOAA with ACOE, as that would conflict with fishing or disturb sensitive short segment, numerous anemones) generally a cooperating agency, prepared and issued a NEPA environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for “Remediation for the Pacific Cross- environmental resources. The planning needed to indicated areas of harder substrate precluding ing-1 North and East Submarine Fiber Optic Cables in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary” (NOAA, November 4, 2005). 27 burial. These were noted for later use in refining to meet several objectives and provide several These are the theories. The PC-1 planned-route adjustments. benefits to the cable owner, the contractor, and the Remediation Project is one of the first substantial The recovery operation was executed regulatory agencies or other interested parties. installations to test them in practice. without the need to splice the cable at the end By verifying burial conditions in real time, On the positive side, TDM had some of the recovery. The cable ship, which lays cable the cable owner can be assured that the cable is notable success, including an application that was from its stern, picked up the cable from the stern properly laid and protected from external aggression unexpected. For example, the clear and prompt (that is, the ship moved in reverse during the 50+ (i.e., the potential for fishing gear, anchors, or other transmission of TDM data was useful in identifying kilometers of recovery operations) and coiled it in objects that could damage the cable). To the extent certain segments that needed to be recovered the on-board storage tanks. Upon reaching the the cable does not meet burial requirements, it and re-layed again. In some cases, this enabled start of the remediation work (initial bight), the should be less expensive and more protective of the all parties to assess whether recovery and the cable was threaded into the plow; the plow was cable to recover and re-lay the cable “on the spot” re-laying of other segments would be worthwhile. deployed, and the ship moved forward to install than after the installation has been completed, at In other cases, such as a surface lay at a cable the recovered cable. This method saved a day which time the contactor would need to remobilize, crossing or on a steep slope, the TDM ROV survey of splicing time and avoided introducing another potentially splice (introducing an unwanted bight), results led to a substantially improved subsequent splice into the system. and re-lay the cable. attempt to lay the cable. Finally, verification in the field could One portion of the route had been altered C. To u c h d o w n Mo n i t o r i n g reduce post-installation inspections or monitoring from the original 1999 installation to avoid a Historically, one of the problems with cable burial requirements. The contractor has verification boulder field, however, the modified route was still operations, especially in variable substrate or from the owner or other on-board decisionmakers encountering a boulder area that was not apparent topography, is, as Joni Mitchell sings in Big Yellow or observers that the installation has met burial from the route survey. Lee Hashem, Tyco’s Taxi: “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” requirements, thus minimizing the potential for engineer in charge, had the ROV on the TDM vessel It is not until weeks or months after the cable- post-installation claims for inadequate work. Again, perform a real-time survey of the areas on several laying operation has demobilized that the post- the correction of any deficiencies in the field should transects. The unexpected value of TDM was the lay inspection survey reports the as-built cable be less expensive than after the fact and could ROV’s ability to find a serviceable route through condition. reduce post-installation inspection or monitoring the problem area. On another portion of the route, TDM refers to real-time visual and requirements. The regulator/observer can be the ROV was able to test its ability to penetrate the electronic confirmation of cable burial conditions. assured that burial requirements are met before substrate to determine whether PLIB operations Typically, TDM is performed by an ROV launched the contractor continues with cable installation. would be effective, which aided decisions in the from a ship following the cable ship. Similar to a TDM can provide verification that is not possible field on whether to try to plow or surface lay the post-lay inspection or a post-lay inspection and to obtain from a plow, for example, because the cable. burial operation (PLI or PLIB), the TDM vessel’s forward motion of the plow—from which standard However, overall, TDM did not prove to be ROV obtains video and other relevant data such measurements are taken—may pull the cable the simple, reliable, real-time verification that had as cable burial depth. The data are relayed to the up from the seabed, especially on slopes or been expected.3 TDM had a number of substantial engineer in charge and other decisionmakers, as undulating seabed. By confirming compliance with and unexpected limitations, including: appropriate, to determine whether to continue with requirements in real time, the regulator/observer is or alter operations. not put into the position of having to persuade a 3 These challenges are inherent in the use of TDM that any owner/ TDM is intended to provide near real-time cable owner or contractor to remobilize and correct operator/marine contractor would face. Given that this project provided data on cable burial conditions so that the cable the deficiency or to take enforcement action. After- one of the first large-scale experiences in deploying TDM on a cable laying the-fact remedies are typically time consuming and installation, it was understandable that these items were unanticipated. The laying ship can recover and re-lay cable that does Engineer-in-Charge on the main lay vessel responded creatively and con- not conform to burial specifications. This is intended resource intensive and may not be successful. structively as these circumstances arose. 28 • Although a new ROV was used with up-to- currents also stirred up sediment, obscuring At the same time, the cable owner wants the date data equipment, the sensors had difficulty the video, which was generally the most useful contractor to take responsibility for the installation producing quality real-time burial data. They data. so that the cable owner can hold the contractor were designed to read either deep burial (more responsible. This is one reason many contacts are In summary, TDM was useful when it worked well, than one meter) or shallower burial (less than “turnkey” projects with the contractors ostensibly but was costly and frustrating when it did not. The 30 centimeters), but had difficulty reading the taking on all facets of the work. The contactor lessons learned from the TDM operations are that full range from surface to deep burial. generally does not want interference from the cable a good communications network, including both owner, and the owner does not want the contractor • Sidecast material affected readings, as did the the video and data transmissions, between the to claim that that the owner’s involvement in the limited ability of the ROV to obtain reliable data TDM vessel and the cable vessel requires clear decisions makes the owner equally or more in areas with rocks and boulders that prevented and prompt data transmission from the ROV to the responsible for the results. However, this “bilateral” the ROV from following the cable close to the cable vessel for timely decisionmaking. Engineers view of decisionmaking is simplistic, especially in trench. in charge and, equally important, ROV and data- an era where governmental clients, regulators, analysis technical crews on both the cable and • The lack of reliability of the electronic sensors fishers, or third parties expect a more substantial TDM vessels from the same company who are placed a greater reliance on the TDM ROV role in decisionmaking and are more active in used to working with each other are invaluable. This video. While the video generally proved to be holding owners and contractors accountable cannot be overestimated given the need for timely the most useful data from the TDM operation, to meet permit conditions and commitments to cooperation, the inherent difficulties in interpreting in many instances, the video was not transmitted minimize conflicts with fishing, protection of natural undersea data, and the cost of operating two clearly or quickly to the cable ship, or the TDM resources, or other uses of the sea floor. vessels. All persons authorized to make field crew wanted to analyze the video and other data Because the PC-1 Remediation Project decisions based on TDM results should be on before communicating conclusions to the cable resulted from a multiparty settlement, the project the same vessel. Finally, recognition of limitations ship. pioneered methods of multiparty decisionmaking. such as currents, equipment, or data transmission The parties included the cable owner PCL, its • Areas of strong currents, which are typical of delays and anticipating or making contingency contractor Tyco, the Makah Tribe (whose treaty the Strait of Juan de Fuca, seriously affected plans to address these limitations is vital. the utility of coordinating plowing and real- rights to usual and accustomed fishing grounds were affected by the cable route), and the U.S. time monitoring with TDM operations. The D. Mu l t i p a r t y On-b o a r d De c i s i o n m a k i n g Government, including several different permitting working assumption was TDM would be A conventional cable laying operation usually agencies. Understandably, each of these parties performed when the plow data and other involves decisions in the field by two parties: the had a substantial interest in successful cable operating parameters indicated consistent cable owner and its contractor. The cable owner burial. Certainly, the parties had different goals and burial less than the target depth of one meter has a real stake in the quality of the installation, perspectives, including network reliability and profit and that the cable ship would standby while the because the owner does not want to be in a contract for the companies, protection of fishing grounds for TDM was performed. This sounded practical dispute trying to get the contractor to fix problems the Tribe, protection of natural and cultural values and cost effective because the cable ship could after the fact that could jeopardize cable reliability. for NOAA’s marine Sanctuary, and protection of not get too far ahead if recovery and re-laying The remedy is often a monetary settlement, which navigation and other values for the U.S. Army were required. Unfortunately, the currents leaves the problems in place and does not provide Corps of Engineers, to name a few. Despite these forced substantial delays while completing the the same protection as a good installation in the different motivations, achieving better cable burial TDM survey, which made a choice necessary first place. The cable owner will also be living with furthered the goal of each party. Better burial would between expensive downtime for both vessels the results long after accepting the work from its protect other uses from conflicts or interference or continuing the cable operation and taking the contractor. risk of a substantial recovery and re-lay. The 29 with the cable, which would in turn protect the The agreed upon protocol was: bottom was quite hard beneath, including scattered cable from external aggression and reduce repairs rocks and boulders (which is one reason there is little and related costs.4 trawling in the area). The on-board representatives Multiparty decisionmaking for the PC-1 • Each party had one on-board representative. promptly decided a second pass should be made. project had several phases from cooperative The U.S. Government selected NOAA as its The second pass produced a similar result. The route planning to the development of a consensus representative. This meant there were four on-board representatives concluded that a third Remediation Plan. A key component of the Plan representatives making on-board decisions pass should not be attempted due to the substrate. involved the recognition that cable operations (PCL, Tyco, NOAA, and the Makah Tribe). When similar conditions were encountered along 5 necessarily require decisions in the field. The • The on-board representatives were to make a the route, the on-board representatives likewise Plan, therefore, included the following elements in decision within 15 minutes or elevate the issue agreed that this substrate was not conducive, and order for multiparty on-board decisionmaking to be to their respective “escalation agents,” who additional passes would not achieve better burial. successful: were typically on land and available 24/7. Somewhat more difficult decisions encountered were whether to recover and make • Burial objectives, such as quantitative or • The escalation agents were to make a final additional passes in boulder fields, at a surface nonvague target burial depth. decision within 45 minutes of being called, with lay on an unavoidable steep slope, and at cable a 15-minute extension being allowed. crossings. On the first segment of the project, the • Contingency criteria or protocols for defining on-board representatives sometimes took an hour performance or process if target burial is not • All decisions would be by unanimous or more to make some of these decisions rather met, such as performance criteria for defining consensus, with one exception. If the escalation than triggering the escalation process in an effort adequate attempts to achieve target burial that agents could not agree, then the majority to cooperate and reach consensus. A key reason are explicit, are not vague, and are understood would prevail. Absent a majority, a decision was that one of the on-board representatives and agreed to by all parties. that followed the recommendation of the U.S. government representative was deemed to have was on the TDM vessel rather than the cable • Standard operational parameters and guidelines constituted a best effort under the Remediation ship with the engineer in charge and the other for varying from these parameters. Plan. Alternatively, the company and contractor parties’ representatives A lesson learned was the could take a course of action that could be importance of having all decisionmakers on the The Plan set out a practical, workable method shown to meet best industry practices. same vessel together reviewing identical data. of making decisions, given the need for prompt This change was made for the second segment of decisions due to cost, operations, and other factors. The principal routine on-board decisions involved the project, and even difficult decisions were made whether to recover and re-lay a segment of cable on a timely basis. 4 Whether recovery and reinstallation of the PC-1 cable through that was not meeting the target burial depth of one Remarkably, in the entire two-month cable the Sanctuary was worth the cost is a separate subject beyond the scope of this discussion. It was discussed, in part, from the government’s perspective meter, based on data obtained from the plow and laying operation, the escalation agents were called in the NOAA environmental assessment on the proposed remediation project TDM survey. A good example occurred early when to make a decision only once due to a lack of and alternatives. Once the agreement to re-lay the cable through the Sanctu- ary was reached, however, it was carried out by these parties in an extraordi- placing the cable, when the burial depth below the consensus among the on-board representatives. nary spirit of cooperation and dedication. The purpose of this discussion is to seabed was variable, ranging mainly between 0.3 An effective procedure was developed on the spot, focus on some of the innovative techniques employed in that project. 5 This discussion will talk about only a few examples. The Sec- meters and 0.6 meters. The operational parameters as the Remediation Plan did not specify exactly tion 1 narrative portion of the final Burial Report for the PC-1 Remediation were extremely conservative, including a heavy how the process should work. First, each on-board Project (Tyco, PCL 2006) provides an excellent insight into these decisions. Field decisions typically involve such diverse decisions as the location of the duty 3M plow, a slow speed of generally less than representative briefed her or his escalation agent initial and final bights, when to employ a grapnel hook to recover the cable if one knot, and optimum cable tension for burial. on the issue, and a call-in number was provided. the ROV is having difficulty locating the cable, whether to recover and re-lay cable en route (see TDM section above) or to make additional passes with a Although the substrate on the western end of the Then a conference call was held for the escalation plow or ROV PLIB operation, whether to speed up or slow down laying the route had a thin surface layer of soft substrate, the cable based on operational guidelines, and so on. 30 agents only, and they reached consensus within as the engineer in charge and the on-board Ken Weiner is a senior partner 15 minutes. They directed certain additional representatives. in the Environmental Land Use operational measures, such as the inclusion of the and Natural Resources practice disputed segment in the PLIB matrix for further group in the Seattle office of K&L E. Co n c l u s i o n burial attempt by the ROV, which subsequently Gates. He has assisted PCL and The three techniques described in this article may resulted in improvement in the burial condition. PC Landing Corp. on the PC 1 have an application for a wider variety of undersea All of the parties, especially the contractor, cable since 1999 on permitting, cable operations. They respond to the growing were initially concerned and skeptical that contracting, and regulatory need for cost-effective operations, regulatory multiparty on-board decisionmaking could be matters. He served as one of the compliance, and a reduction in conflicts with other successful, especially with a standard of unanimous company’s On-Board Representatives on the PC 1 uses (e.g., for consensus-based decisionmaking consensus and an equal number of parties. The Remediation Project. where multiple parties have a substantial stake in challenges arose mainly due to the difficulties in the operation while still respecting the necessary obtaining real-time data from the TDM surveys, and traditional roles of the captain and engineer in and, for one segment, not having all of the on- charge). board representatives on the same vessel. In many ways, the PC-1 Remediation The process worked quite well due to Project was a “shakedown cruise” for large-scale several factors: Seth Davis is Senior cable recovery, Touch Down Monitoring, and Vice President of PCL multiparty on-board decisionmaking. All three of • The clarity of the performance standards in the and is responsible these innovative techniques were successfully Plan. for managing PC employed with uses and benefits that were not 1 operations. He • The commitment of the parties to work together initially expected. At the same time, many lessons was the company’s to carry out the Plan. were learned, which should be considered when Project Manager any of these techniques are employed on future • Compliance with operational parameters, for the PC 1 projects. which tended to isolate the variable to being the Remediation Project. substrate conditions. He is also a principal in SRD Associates and a Senior Vice President of CXO LLC, assisting • The effort by several on-board representatives to anticipate problem areas based on experience telecommunications and other companies on a gained during the operation and to develop wide range of issues. options in advance of having to make on-board decisions. • A working procedure established early on by the parties for an objective review of the available data, such as compliance with operational parameters, analysis of substrate conditions based on all available data from multiple sources, and exploration and use of minor route modifications. This included the insights of the captain and the plow and ROV crews, as well 31 The annual IBC (International Bearer Circuit) per second) per year in FY2007, carriers FCC IBC Fee: fee. interviewed by Pioneer Consulting estimate that this now represents 10-25% of the annual Damaging or What is this, you ask? As a builder or owner of lease revenue for a circuit. The annual IBC an undersea cable system, why do I care about fee for a STM-1 (about 2400 “circuits”) from Anachronistic? it? Do I have to worry about this thing even if I New York to London (or anywhere outside the am a bank? An Internet Service Provider? An US, for that matter) is now about US$2,500 oil company? (see the Chart “STM-1 IBC Fee”) and the fee The short answer is yes. Yes and yes. for a STM-64 is about US$162,000. In the Described as “[one of] the biggest issues facing transatlantic market, where the lease price is cable owners today” by the CEO of a major only marginally above the equipment price and transoceanic cable system, the fee is levied by margins are thin, the IBC fee is enough to push the U.S. Federal Communications Commission profit into a loss. (FCC) on international license holders. The FCC claims that the fee is simply used to recover regulatory costs. Recouping the Commission’s costs by collecting fees on international traffic is not a new idea. For years, the FCC has been recording outbound international traffic by mandating carriers to report their IBCs (defined as an equivalent circuit of 64 kilobits per second). So why has this become an issue now? Put simply, the fee basis has not been flexible enough to cope with plummeting bandwidth prices and the recent increase in the types of customers purchasing capacity on the plethora of international Industry Perspective communications facilities. (Recent, that is, in the glacial pace of regulatory reform.) Complaints about these fees are not new. As far back as 2004, Tyco (while they still owned the Despite the fact that the FCC’s annual TGN; VSNL has continued these objections) adjustment of the IBC fee saw a reduction to filed with the FCC a comprehensive objection By Howard Kidorf US$1.05 per “circuit” (defined as 64 kilobits 33 to the fees. Tyco argued that basing fees on voice circuits in a STM-64 and the equipment of this tax which had its origins in a world the number of an international carrier’s active needed to provide a wholesale STM-64 where very small systems sold very small units circuits favors older, lower-capacity systems represent entirely different cost bases. But, of capacity primarily for international voice to the detriment of newer, higher-capacity they are assessed the same fee. telephone calls. systems. Tyco also felt that the FCC’s present methodology does not take into account the Tyco has proposed that the FCC create a Of course, all of these objections were also reduced level of regulation associated with separate and additional category for the true and obvious 8 years ago when the STM-1 non-common carrier (also known as “private”) wholesaling activities of a non-common-carrier became the unit of currency in the international submarine cable operators who primarily sell submarine cable operator. The current revenue telecom business, private cables existed and capacity wholesale. requirement from the IBC fee could then be wholesale purchasing and resale had already allocated between the two fee categories, arrived. Furthermore, presuming that an IBC exists by based on the regulatory burden of each new imposing fees based on a company’s “active” category. FCC PERSPECTIVE (i.e. “lit and sold”) capacity is at odds with The FCC has agreed that there are problems how non-common carrier submarine cable Tyco has suggested that the FCC should adopt a flat, per-cable-landing-license fee for non- with the IBC-based charges. They also agree operators actually sell capacity. The regulatory that the issue is complicated and have asked regime requires carriers to determine if their common carrier submarine cable operators. Many commenters to the FCC support Tyco’s interested parties for input. They also have customers are themselves common carriers been delaying making any changes for years; (in which case the fee may not need to be position including the Satellite Industry Association (who seem to have an annual the FCC has been “studying the issue” for charged), guess the use of the capacity, and seven years. if the capacity is to be used for protection ritual of commenting on these fees) and FLAG (probably no fee required). This requires Telecom. No one disputes the FCC’s right to offset the operators to play a guessing game to determine Writing in Telecommunications Magazine, cost of regulation of undersea cables (recently if regulatory fees are applicable. Jayne Stowell (now working at Google) points calculated to be more than $7.5M; wow!; this is more than 50x required than to regulate the Tyco’s complaint is wide-ranging but the bottom out that “IBC fees are essentially a tax imposed upon certain classes of capacity purchasers Satellite TV industry and about the same as line is that these fees are an impediment to the that required to regulate more than 4,000 radio sales of wholesale capacity on cables. This that equates to 100 percent doubling of the cost of capacity sold in the U.S. – a tax wholly stations and the entire AM broadcast industry) damages the undersea cable market and the by collecting fees. See the chart “FCC View country. inappropriate for a governmental policy of encouraging communications deployment and of IBC Fees”. The issue of “Who pays?” is a The CEO for the same cable operator quoted usage.” complex one, though. in the opening paragraphs points out that the She also notes that in “an exceptional spirit This brings up the first complexity in the IBC fee is completely unrelated to both the discussion. The Telecom Act of 1934 defines cost of providing a circuit and the revenue that of industry cooperation, the owners of trans- Atlantic submarine systems are currently a thing called Common Carrier aimed at is generated by an international “circuit.” The defining the companies that offer telephone equipment required to provide the 150,000 lobbying the FCC for a revision of or removal 34 services to the public. (Yes our regulations date from before World War Two! To be fair, though, they were amended as recently as 1996. But, the regulatory structure dates from before jets and transistors.) Common carriers are heavily regulated. Those lucky enough not to be included in this category escape piles of regulatory burden. (This distinction has many more implications in other industries as ISPs, cable television companies and many others offer voice services.) A set of rules were published by the FCC to ensure that non-common-carrier-owned cables (the FCC seems to see cables in black or white; To add to the confusion, the FCC does not appear either a cable is owned by a common carrier or to be actively collecting the IBC fee. According it isn’t) pay their fees. That is, unless the circuit to Pioneer Consulting’s analysis, there is well in Howard Kidorf is a recognized is sold to a common carrier (since the common excess of 2,800 gigabits per second of capacity expert in optical transmission and telecommunications networks and carrier will have to pay their own IBC fee and leaving the shores of the US across the Atlantic, an experienced manager of research the FCC recognized that it is unfair to collect Pacific and into the Caribbean, excluding and development teams. As Partner in fees twice on a circuit). However, it is unclear lit capacity that is reserved for redundancy where the responsibility lies to determine if a Pioneer Consulting he leads a team of purposes. These 43,750,000 64 kilobits per experienced professionals to deliver a given wholesale circuit is, or is going to be, sold second equivalents should generate more than or leased in whole or in part to a party that is comprehensive set of services for the US$46M for the FCC’s coffers. This amount is submarine fiber optic telecommunication responsible to pay IBC fees or even how much more than six times greater than the FCC’s system industry: from system engineering that circuit is even going to be used. current collections target for the IBC fee. to market analysis, feasibility study to RFQ, from Desk Top Study to project Given this lack of clarity, a wholesale seller is By writing this article, Pioneer Consulting hopes often caught between a rock and a hard place. implementation. Before becoming a to raise awareness of this issue among the partner in Pioneer Consulting, he was Maybe there will be a 214 license holder at the submarine system community and within the FCC. a Distinguished Member of Technical end of the transaction chain in which case the The current mechanism for calculating IBC fees Staff for Forward-Looking Technology fee can be ignored. This exposes the seller to is inequitable and the assessment and collection Assessment at AT&T Bell Labs and a potential risk if the FCC decides to collect mechanism leaves carriers in a quandary. We Director of Services Engineering at Tyco (though there is no FCC enforcement of these urge those affected to submit comments to the Submarine Systems Ltd. regulations). On the other hand, by playing it FCC in the hope that this will galvanise reform of safe and paying the fee on every transaction a regulatory fee which is anachronistic in today’s would likely price the seller out of the market. marketplace. 35 972 x 714 mm finished size International Submarine Cable Systems GREENLAND 2005 edition Submarine Telecoms Forum ICELAND A L A S K A FINLAND SWEDEN NORWAY R U S S I A LATVIA UNITED DENMARK LITH KINGDOM UANIA C A N A D A RU IRELAND SSIA BELARUS POLAND NETHERLANDS and SubOptic 2010 are producing the BELGIUM CZECH REP. GERMANY UKRAINE REP. 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AUSTRIA CUBA FRANCE CAMBODIA SWITZERLAND HUNGARY ROMANIA PHILIPPINES Submarine YUGOSLAVIA PUERTO RICO BULGARIA MALAYSIA P O R T U G A L SPAIN Submarine GREECE FOTReUlecMoms TURKEY BORNEO SYRIA TUNISIA Www.subtelforum.com TUNISIA ALGERIA VENEZUELA MOROCCO PAPUA Designed and produced by Ted Breeze COLOMBIA I N D O N E S I A NEW LIBYA JORDAN GUINEA Cable Map which will be complimentarily distributed to 3000 industry members in some 85 countries The 2008 Submarine Cable Map will be printed in full color Cost: on high quality art paper, $3,000 per measuring 914 mm x 800 mm, advertising and providing participating advertisers an area of approximately 133 mm x 50 mm square to display their corporate image and contact information. 36 National Security Agreements: In recent years, the United States Government, public, including other governments agencies, to A New Hurdle for Submarine reacting to real and perceived threats from cyber- opine as to whether granting the license serves the Cabling Landing Licenses terrorism, the loss and theft of sensitive information, public interest. Further, when the FCC liberalized its and high-profile hacking incidents (including the licensing rules for international carriers in the mid- Pentagon’s computer systems), has become 1990s, it agreed to seek the input of the Executive increasingly concerned with protecting the nation’s Branch regarding law enforcement, national telecommunications infrastructure. Acquisitions security, and public safety issues. In practical of U.S. telecommunications carriers and network terms, any FCC application with significant foreign operators by non-U.S. persons have been subject ownership -- ten percent is the unofficial trigger -- is to national security review for a number of years. sent to the Executive Branch for review. More recently, however, “Team Telecom” -- an ad hoc task force comprising the Departments Until recently, the Executive Branch rarely of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice that exercised its authority to review FCC applications examines such deals -- has begun to review new outside of large mergers and acquisitions. After cable landing license applications as well. Team 9/11, however, Team Telecom became more Telecom’s new focus on this area promises to slow active, reviewing nearly every FCC application the FCC licensing process. Even more troubling, with foreign ownership and frequently imposing it has the potential to discriminate against cables conditions intended to address national security with significant non-U.S. ownership. and law enforcement issues. Team Telecom first starting reviewing applications for international What Is Team Telecom and Why Is It Involved In service licenses issued by the FCC under Section The FCC Licensing Process? 214. A non-U.S. applicant for a Section 214 license is now routinely required to sign, depending on the Team Telecom started as a subset of the Committee applicant’s proposed activities, a letter of assurance on Foreign Investment in the United States or CFIUS. or a more onerous network security agreement CFIUS is an inter-agency committee of the U.S. (NSA). Government that is chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and is empowered to review acquisitions Team Telecom’s review of submarine cable landing of U.S. companies by non-U.S. persons. Team licenses is more recent. Team Telecom has Telecom got its name because these agencies long reviewed transactions involving the sale of took the lead in reviewing transactions involving submarine cable assets or operators. For example, telecommunications carriers on behalf of CFIUS. the acquisition of Global Crossing by STT and the sale of the Tycom Global Network to VSNL were Until recently, Team Telecom limited its activities both reviewed extensively by Team Telecom as to matters within the jurisdiction of CFIUS, part of the CFIUS review process. The requirement specifically, transactions involving the acquisition that new cable licensees enter into NSAs dates of U.S. carriers and network operators by foreign only to January of this year when Verizon Business persons. Beginning in 2002, Team Telecom began (Verizon) entered into an NSA for the Trans-Pacific to expand its role, which it was able to do because Express Cable Network (TPE) it is building with a of the public nature of the FCC licensing process. consortium of Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese carriers. Two other agreements followed shortly Under FCC rules, most license applications are after and another is pending. In short, it is clear By Andrew D. Lipman, Paul Gagnier, subject to public notice and comment periods. The that, going forward, all landing license applicants and Brett P. Ferenchak purpose of this process is to allow members of the 37 with substantial foreign ownership will be required Team Telecom’s review in the submarine cable the U.S. landing party, will own or obtain an to enter into NSAs as a condition to obtaining their context is slightly less clear, primarily because indefeasible right of use in all TPE facilities located licenses. there is less precedent. In procedural terms, the in U.S. territory. In addition, only Verizon may process is likely to be similar to that for Section direct the activities of TPE’s U.S. landing vendor. How Does Team Telecom Review Work? 214 applications, with Team Telecom asking the The TPE agreement also has stricter personnel FCC to defer action pending Team Telecom’s screening requirements than past agreements, Although Team Telecom is an ad hoc group, the approval. If the experience of recent applicants is requiring Verizon to conduct detailed background review process is fairly well-trod, especially in the any indication, however, Team Telecom’s review checks. In short, the obligations placed on Verizon context of Section 214 applications. As noted, of submarine cable applications is likely to be go substantially beyond those of past NSAs. the FCC sends copies of applications with foreign substantially more time-consuming. The FCC While the reasons for these requirements have not ownership to the Executive Branch for review. licensing process for TPE, for example, took nearly been made public, it seems likely that they were Team Telecom then typically asks applicants to 11 months, including the Team Telecom process. motivated by Team Telecom’s concerns regarding answer a set of questions (referred to as the “triage The application for the Asia-America Gateway the participation of the mainland China’s incumbent questions”). The questions address the applicant’s Cable Network (AAG) was filed on July 19, 2007 carriers in TPE, and especially the fact that those planned services and facilities, where call data and is still pending. Other recent applications by carriers controls landing stations in China. and other information will be stored, how data Columbus Networks and the Gemini Bermuda will be secured, and who will have access to the consortium took less time but still required upward The TPE NSA also has more specific requirements applicant’s network and data. In most cases, Team of six months. Substantively, recent NSAs make regarding the configuration of the system than do Telecom also will ask the FCC to defer granting clear that applicants for cable landing licenses prior agreements. For instance, Verizon must be the application until Team Telecom has completed are going to have to make substantially greater able to cut off traffic to and from the United States its review. This typically results in the removal of commitments than in the past. at the Verizon-controlled cable terminal. Verizon the application from streamlined processing at the must also configure the systems so that the TPE FCC and the withholding of FCC approval until What Are The Provisions Of An NSA? NOC (which must be located in the U.S.) can Team Telecom’s review is complete. view the status of all segments of the cable. The Like the Team Telecom review process, the terms Gemini Bermuda agreement contains a similar Although applicants can wait for Team Telecom of NSAs have become fairly standardized. In the requirement (although it allows the NOC to be to receive their applications from the FCC, most submarine sector, NSAs have recently been signed located in Bermuda). Conversely, Verizon must applicants are proactive and contact Team Telecom by Verizon for the TPE consortium, Columbus ensure that the non-U.S. landing parties to TPE immediately upon filing an FCC application (and Networks (for its CFX-1 cable connecting Columbia, cannot view the status of the network beyond the sometimes before filing). There are several Jamaica, and the United States), and by Verizon optical distribution frame at the U.S. termination advantages to this approach. Most obviously, for the Gemini Bermuda Cable System linking the point. contacting Team Telecom can move the application United States and Bermuda. These NSAs have a closer to the top of Team Telecom’s list and thus number of standard provisions addressing issues It is too early to tell whether the TPE NSA is speed review. Second, it allows the applicant such as physical security of the network facilities, going to become the new standard. There are to begin to characterize its application for Team requirements to store certain calling data in the hopeful signs that it will not. The Gemini Bermuda Telecom. Simply put, some applications -- such United States, obligations to cooperate with U.S. NSA, which was also signed by Verizon, and the as those for resold services or with non-controlling law enforcement, and the screening of personnel Columbus Networks agreement do not incorporate foreign ownership -- raise fewer issues and who will have access to the system or calling the most onerous provisions of the TPE agreement. can be approved more quickly. Third, and most data. Rather, those provisions seem to have been driven substantively, actively engaging Team Telecom puts by concerns specific to the TPE project, probably the applicant in the best position to suggest and However, the NSAs, and especially the TPE NSA, related to the significant participation by Chinese- craft solutions to any law enforcement and national also have new requirements that seem to be a government owned carriers. At the same time, security issues in a more favorable manner. result of the identities of the non-U.S. participants. recent NSAs are broader in scope than prior For example, the TPE NSA mandates that Verizon, 38 generations and are indicative of closer scrutiny of U.S. submarine cable market. new carriers in navigating the complex regulatory landing license applicants. entry requirements, including certification, tariffing Andrew Lipman has and right-of-way issues, as well as post-entry Practical Effects of Team Telecom Review of spent more than 25 years compliance issues such as periodic reporting, fees Landing License Applicants developing the firm’s and assessments. Brett also assists clients on Telecommunications, Media regulatory issues affecting them when emerging There are several lessons to be taken away from and Technology Group into from bankruptcy. He is experienced in complaint Team Telecom’s involvement in submarine cable one of the largest practices and other adversarial proceedings before the landing license applications. First, FCC approval of its kind in the nation. He Federal Communications Commission and state will take longer than in the past where there is practices in virtually every regulatory agencies. foreign participation in the cable system. The aspect of communications law FCC’s streamlining rules were intended to reduce and related fields, including Paul Gagnier’s practice the time required to obtain cable landing licenses regulatory, transactional, focuses on advising U.S. to as little as 45 days. However, given that the FCC litigation, legislative and land use. The TMT Group and foreign communications will not grant a landing license until Team Telecom is international in scope, representing clients in the and technology companies has approved, it seems unlikely that a license will U.S., Central and South America, Europe, Asia and on strategic business issues be issued in less than six months. other parts of the world. Andy represents clients in and transactional, corporate, both the private and public sectors, including those regulatory and legislative The second lesson is that it is critical that parties in the areas of local, long distance and international matters, with an emphasis building a submarine cable system think long telephone common carriage; Internet services on inbound and outbound and hard about U.S. national security and law and technologies; conventional and emerging foreign investment. Paul’s enforcement issues in structuring their systems. wireless services; satellite services; broadcasting; practice spans the globe, Parties should consider having a U.S.-based competitive video services; telecommunications from the United States to Europe, Asia, Latin landing party control and operate U.S.-based equipment manufacturing; and other high- America and the Middle East. Paul represents facilities and non-U.S. parties should be prepared technology applications. In addition, Andy has clients in all sectors of the communications to accept limitations on their ability to control the managed privatizations of telecommunications and IT market, including local, long distance U.S. portion of the network and to obtain access to carriers in Europe, Asia and Latin America. and international telecommunications carriers; U.S. facilities and data. information and application service providers; VoIP service providers; wireless carriers; satellite Third, parties should be prepared to engage providers; builders and operators of submarine Team Telecom immediately upon filing their FCC Brett P. Ferenchak assists cable networks; and equipment manufacturers. applications and to have comprehensive responses common and private carriers In addition, Paul represents foreign governments and practical solutions to any questions or concerns and Internet companies on a on privatization and liberalization matters. Paul raised by the government. variety of telecommunications also advises private equity firms, venture capital regulatory issues. Brett Finally, foreign persons should not be dissuaded companies and investment banks in connection advises communications with investments in the TMT sector. from entering the U.S. market. While the path to carriers, banks, venture approval may be a bit more winding than in the past, capitalists and other nearly all projects can ultimately receive approval. investment companies on the Moreover, the government is amenable to a variety regulatory aspects of mergers, of ownership and control structures provided acquisitions and other that their basic security concerns are addressed corporate transactions, as well as financing and satisfactorily. Parties must be flexible and creative, debt arrangements. He also counsels on service, but there is still room for foreign investment in the equipment and licensing agreements and assists 39 of three new undersea “wet” components: (1) SEAK will use two fiber pairs that currently terminate at a branching unit on the Alaska United West system and extend to Ketchikan via a new repeater segment of undersea cable. This segment will have an initial capacity of 10 Gbps and will be upgradeable in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design capacity of 640 Gbps–320 Gbps on the fiber pair connecting Ketchikan to Seward and 320 Gbps on the fiber pair connecting Ketchikan to Warrenton; (2) SEAK will connect Ketchikan to Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau via new festoon-style, un-repeatered segments of undersea cable. This segment will also have an initial capacity of 10 Gbps and will be upgradeable in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design By Robert Mazer capacity of 120 Gbps; and (3) SEAK will connect the splice point at Hawk Inlet, Angoon, and Sitka via a new segment of undersea cable with a single The subsea cable financial debacle that occurred at a regular but limited basis. However, the technical repeater at Angoon. This segment will also have an the beginning of this decade has finally begun to limitations of satellites and the inherent technical initial capacity of 2.5 Gbps and will be upgradeable usher in a new environment where efficiency rules and financial challenges of terrestrial technologies in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design and speculation has disappeared. In the last several insured that these geographic locations would not capacity of 120 Gbps. years, we have seen the rise of the niche cables that have access to state-of-the-art communications In another proposal to improve communications are designed to meet extremely specific requirements. technology. Concurrently, the introduction of new capability in Alaska, ACS Cable Systems, Inc. has Relatedly, we have seen the emergence of creative technologies (e.g., Internet, computer networking, received authority to construct a subsea cable to link means to introduce new cable routes in a more efficient etc.) significantly increased demand for high quality Anchorage, Homer, Juneau, and Nikiski, Alaska and manner. Finally, in 2007, we have seen proposals for telecommunications technology from remote Florence, Oregon. The ACS system will consist the first time in six years to construct and operate locations. of four segments: two primary submarine cable transoceanic cables. In the last year, several of these cables have been segments and two terrestrial segments. The first The Niche Cables authorized by the FCC and construction has segment will consist of an un-repeatered eight (8) fiber Many of the most remote places on the planet are commenced. Specifically, two subsea cables have pair submarine cable between Anchorage, Alaska and islands or geographical locations in the far north been approved to connect remote areas in Alaska. GCI Nikiski, Alaska. The second segment will consist of a latitudes. Until the late 1960s, these places’ ability to Communications Corp. is building a cable to connect terrestrial cable connecting Nikiski to Homer, Alaska. communicate with the outside world were extremely to the Alaska communities of Angoon, Hawk Inlet, The third segment will consist of a repeatered four (4) limited: shortwave radio, microwave, or an occasional Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, and Wrangell fiber pair submarine cable that extends from Homer, cable drop. The introduction of satellite technology with the existing Alaska United West system. The Alaska to Florence, Oregon. The fourth segment will allowed these locations to reach the outside world on Southeast Alaska Fiber-Optic (“SEAK”) will consist 40 consist of a terrestrial path connecting the landing digital fiber-optic submarine cable operating at an TI Wholesale Services Puerto Rico has proposed to add station at Florence to the Pittock Building in Portland, OC-48 line rate and higher. This system will provide an additional segment to the South American- Cable Oregon and then on to the Westin Building in Seattle, a capacity of 2.5 gigabits, which equates to an initial Network (SAm-1) to be located between the existing Washington. ACS will also add a repeatered single configuration of approximately 48 DS‑3 or 1344 DS‑1 cable landing station at Isla Verde, Puerto Rico and a fiber pair submarine segment to connect Juneau, channels. Initial engineering will provide OC-3, new destination point in Barranquilla, Colombia. The Alaska to the main segment running between Homer, OC-12 and Gigabit Ethernet drop capacity on all of SAm-1 cable is a fiber optic submarine cable system Alaska and Florence, Oregon. The ACS system the routes. Paniolo proposes seven landing stations extending between: Boca Raton, Florida; Isla Verde, will have four primary landing sites, three in Alaska for the PFOC: (1) Kekaha, Kauai; (2) Makaha, Puerto Rico; Fortaleza, Brazil; Salvador, Brazil; (Anchorage, Nikiski, and Homer) and one in Oregon Oahu; (3) Hawaiian Kai, Oahu; (4) Kaunakakai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santos, Brazil; Las Toninas, (Florence). An optional fifth landing site in Juneau, Molokai; (5) Lahina, Maui; (6) Makena, Maui; and Argentina; Valparaiso, Chile; Arica, Chile; Lurin, Alaska, is also being considered. The design capacity (7) Kawaihae, Hawaii. Paniolo will control three of Peru; Puerto San José, Guatemala; and Puerto Barrios, of all repeatered segments will be 64x10 Gbps per fiber the four principal telecommunications network layers Guatemala. The new digital fiber optic segment will pair. Initial capacity will be 4x10 Gbps on one fiber (i.e., fiber path, optical path and physical path). have a minimum design capacity of 10 Gbps per pair from Homer to Florence, and an additional fiber There also has been renewed interest in subsea fiber pair on two fiber pairs. Each fiber pair will be pair equipped at 4x10 Gbps on the Juneau branch, if cables to service various locations in the Caribbean. capable of carrying a minimum of one wavelength of that option is exercised. For the submerged segments Colombia Networks USA (a subsidiary of ARCOS-1 traffic. The proposed extension will use the existing connecting Homer, Alaska to Florence, Oregon, the USA) is proposing to land and operate a non-common landing point for SAm-1 in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. ultimate capacity is 64 OC-192s per fiber pair. With carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system, the CFX-1 In Barranquilla, Colombia, the new segment will use 4 fiber pair, the total bandwidth equals 256 OC-192s Cable System, between the United States, Colombia the existing beach manhole and cable terminal station or 2.56 Terabits/sec. and Jamaica. The CFX-1 cable system will be a non- owned by PARAPAT, a Colombian trust containing the Obviously, these two Alaskan cables will significantly common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system. telecommunications infrastructure formerly owned improve communications services to some of the The cable system will have landing stations in Boca by Empresa Nacional de Telecommunicaciones. more remote locations in the United States. Raton, Florida; Cartagena, Colombia; and Morant Finally, in one of the more creative subsea cables in In another remote location – Hawaii – there has also been Bay, Jamaica, as well as a secondary landing point many years, BP Exploration and Productions Inc. activity to improve inter-island telecommunication in Copa Club, Jamaica. The CFX-1 cable system (“BP”) is constructing a cable to connect oil platforms services. Paniolo Cable Company, LLC (“Paniolo”) will consist of one segment equipped with repeaters in the Gulf of Mexico. This network is designed to is proposing to land and operate a high capacity fiber- connecting Cartagena and Boca Raton. The system improve the communication services to oil platforms optic non-common carrier submarine cable system, will also have a branch without repeaters connecting in the Gulf of Mexico especially during weather the Paniolo Fiber-Optic Cable (“PFOC”), which will to Morant Bay. The system will contain 2 fiber pairs related emergencies (e.g., Hurricanes). This non- link the five major Hawaiian islands. The cable will in each undersea segment. Each local pair from common carrier cable system, to be known as the Gulf consist of 300 miles of submarine fiber-optic cables Boca Raton to Morant Bay and from Morant Bay to of Mexico Fiber Optic Network (“Gulf Fiber”), will divided into four segments: (1) Kekaha, Kauai to Cartagena will initially be equipped with 1x10 Gbps establish landing stations in the following locations: Makaha, Oahu; (2) Hawaii Kai, Oahu to Kaunakaki, of capacity. Each express fiber pair between Boca Freeport, Texas and Pascagoula, Mississippi. BP will Molokai; (3) Kaunakakai, Molokai to Lahaina, Maui; Raton and Cartagena will initially be equipped with primarily utilize this capacity to support its own oil and (4) Makena, Maui to Kawaihae, Hawaii. 10x10 Gbps of capacity. Each fiber pair is designed drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, but will offer to support 96x10 Gbps for a total segment capacity of capacity to selected users on an indefeasible right- The system as proposed will consist of a high capacity, 1920 Gbps. 41 of-use (“IRU”) or leased-capacity basis, on terms within the cable station, the terrestrial cable between Corporation (China Telecom); (4) China United tailored to those customer’s particular needs. the cable station and the cable landing point, and Telecommunications Corporation (China Unicom); Gulf Fiber will be a digital fiber-optic system with a the submarine cable and associated repeaters. They (5) Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (Chughwa Telecom); minimum design capacity of 320 Gbps per fiber pair will recover submarine cable from the Gemini South and (6) KT Corporation (KT). Each party will have on two fiber pairs (a total of 640 Gbps). Each of these system located in international waters and redeploy an equal 16.66% ownership and voting interest in all fiber pairs will be capable of carrying a minimum of cable to a landing station in Bermuda. The Gemini international water segments of the cable network. 32 wavelengths of traffic. Bermuda System will have two fiber pairs and will Individual parties will own and control each landing have the capacity of 10 Gbps per pair, for a total of station and the portion of the cable that connects that Whether in remote areas of Alaska, Hawaii, the 20 Gbps. The use of new technology over existing landing station to the portion of the cable system Caribbean or oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, submarine cable could increase the system’s capacity in international waters. Each party, except China the last year has demonstrated that the promise of to 160 Gbps per fiber pair. Unicom, will also be responsible for operating the subsea cables is being extended to the far reaches of The redeployment of an old cable is unprecedented. It landing terminal equipment for the cable in their the planet. These extensions will provide consumers respective home service territories: Verizon, Nedonna and businesses located in remote areas many of the demonstrates that telecommunications companies are seeking efficient means to bring telecommunication Beach/Hillsboro landing station; China Netcom, economic, social and reliability benefits of modern Qingdao landing station; China Telecom, Chongming telecommunications technology. services to remote areas in order to meet growing demand for capacity. Certainly this proposal landing station; Chunghwa Telecom, Tanshui landing New Efficiencies demonstrates that the redeployment of an existing station; and KT, Keoje landing station. In one of the most innovative and efficient proposals cable is technically and economically feasible. MCI International, Inc. is a wholly-owned ever for a new cable, MFS Cables U.S. (a subsidiary The Reemergence of Subsea Cables in Asia subsidiary of Verizon Communications Inc. of Verizon), and Cable & Wireless Network Services (Verizon Communications). China Netcom, China Limited (a subsidiary of “Cable & Wireless plc”), As we read in the newspaper, China is experiencing Telecom and China Unicom are all controlled by the recently proposed to construct and operate a non- exponential economic growth on an annual basis. Administration Commission of the State Counsel, a common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system Concurrent with this tremendous economic growth Chinese government entity of SASAC. The Chinese extending between Bermuda and the United States, for is an increased demand for high speed, high quality government has an 80 percent ownership interest in the Gemini Bermuda System. The Gemini Bermuda telecommunications services. Given China’s China Unicom. system will be established by redeploying submarine growth in exports, the demand for international telecommunications services has proven to be critical Chunghwa Telecom is a Taiwan telecommunications cable from the southern portion of the Gemini System company and KT is a Korean company. to connect to existing landing stations in New Jersey in order to maintain and expand this explosive and Bermuda. The original Gemini system was economic growth. Recently a consortium of six The proposed TPE Network will operate as a non- comprised of two segments – a southern route from companies proposed to land and operate a fiber-optic common carrier fiber-optic submarine cable system, New Jersey to the United Kingdom (“Gemini South”) submarine cable system directly linking mainland directly linking mainland China, South Korea, and a northern route from Rhode Island to the United China, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States for Taiwan and the United States. The TPE Network Kingdom. That system was retired and deactivated the Trans-Pacific Express Cable Network (TPE). will be a 4-pair fiber optic cable system with initial in 2004. MFS and C&W intend to use the existing The TPE Consortium is composed of six parties: (1) equipped capacity of up to 1.28 terabits per second plant of Gemini South, particularly the Manasquan MCI International, Inc. (a subsidiary of Verizon); (2) (Tbps), and a design capacity of up to 5.12 Tbps. The cable landing station located in Sea Girt, New Jersey, China Network Communications Group Corporation system will extend more than 18,000 kilometers and a portion of the existing terminal equipment located (China Netcom); (3) China Telecommunications have a life expectancy of 25 years. The TPE Network 42 will provide direct access from the United States to the AAG to landings in Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Robert Mazer’s principal area mainland China at speeds of up to 10 gigabits per Singapore, and Thailand. The system can interconnect of practice is international second (Gbps). The TPE Network’s configuration with existing submarine cables that serve the Asia- t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s will combine a linear trans-Pacific route with an intra- Pacific region, and also is designed to allow future law. Since leaving the Asian ring. In Asia, the cable will land at currently extensions to Australia, India, Indonesia, Africa, and Federal Communications operational cable landing stations in Quingdao, China; Europe. The AAG system will be approximately Commission staff in 1983, he Chongming, China; Tanshui, Taiwan; and Keoje, 19,000 kilometers in length, with spans of 2 to 3 fiber has represented international, South Korea. Cables from these four terminal points pairs, depending upon the segment. The AAG has a wireline, wireless and will be brought together via branching units (BU) design capacity of 1.92 terabits per second (“Tbps”) satellite companies, and forming the intra-Asian ring. A single, 4-fiber pair for 2-fiber pair segments, and a maximum of 2.88 companies engaged in cable will terminate in these BU’s and cross the Pacific Tbps for 3-fiber pair segments. The United States the development of emerging telecommunications Ocean to the U.S. landing station in Nedonna Beach, terminal points will initially operate at 540 gigabits technologies. For these companies he has provided Oregon. The TPE Network is another manifestation per second (“Gbps”). The cable system will employ a broad range of strategic, regulatory and corporate of the growing economic importance of Asia. a Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Erbium support. He currently advises several companies on Almost simultaneously, the Asia American Gateway Doped Fiber amplifier system, which will provide U.S. and international telecommunication regulatory Consortium (“AAG Consortium”) has proposed 96 wavelengths of 10 Gbps on each fiber pair. The issues. He has assisted clients in obtaining submarine to construct and operate a high capacity fiber-optic AAG will have ten landing stations, one each in cable landing licenses in the U.S., Venezuela, and submarine cable system linking Malaysia, Singapore, seven foreign countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Brazil and in obtaining regulatory approvals to offer Thailand, Brunei Darussalem, Vietnam, Hong Kong Darussalam, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and a variety of international telecommunication services SAR, Philippines and the United States (the “AAG” Philippines) and three locations in the United States in many countries throughout the world. Additionally, system). The AAG Consortium includes the following: and its territories (Guam, Hawaii, and the mainland Bob conceived and assisted in the establishment of (1) AT&T Corp.; (2) Bharti Airtel Limited; (3) CAT United States). several emerging telecommunications companies. Telecom Public Company Limited; (4) Datastream As the above demonstrates, the subsea cable industry Technology Sdn Bhd, Telekom Brunei Berhad, and has gone from prudence to boom to bust to practical. the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Today, cables are being constructed based on very Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalem represented by the specific needs. Whether the need is to serve remote Ministry of Communications; (5) Philippine Long locations or booming economic areas, subsea cables Distance Telephone Company; (6) PT Telekomunikasi have demonstrated they can offer the necessary Indonesia, Tbk.; (7) StarHub Ltd.; (8) Telekom telecommunications capacity to meet emerging and Malaysia Berhad; (9) Telstra Corporation Limited; and newly defined needs for capacity and reliability. (10) Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group. Hopefully, the industry will learn from the boom-bust The main AAG trunk cable is a linear trans-Pacific cycle that it experienced over the last ten years and cable consisting of five primary segments that will continue to develop cables in a technologically and run from California to Malaysia, with intermediate economically efficient manner. landings in Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong-to-Malaysia segment will have an additional four branching units that will extend 43 After a company has made the strategic exercise to a complex, arduous drain on time, decision to move forward with a resources and forward momentum. These telecommunications network system build, conditions include basics like project location a number of factors related to the project’s and geographic placement (offshore, onshore, specific requirements will then need to be or both; topography and terrain; rural and/or System considered. During this sequence, system urban locales; proximity of the proposed system design, preliminary engineering, construction to existing network facilities; use of public roads, planning and materials provisioning are typically utility corridors or private property), dedicated Rights-Of-Way given much of the attention by the technical system technology, facilities and configuration people and their consultants, while those (buried fiber optic or wireless; point-to-point; assessing the corporate business and financial hub and spoke; network ring; tower or building and Permitting – aspects deal with issues including cost and antenna/base station siting; physical plant, benefit analysis, direct and indirect return on including structures and equipment sites), and An Exercise investment projections, and personnel demands system connectivity commitments (location for the endeavor. Once these basic areas of and number of any required building, manhole concern have been addressed and the project or switch service entrances or other point-of- plan moves beyond the generally internal office presence tie-ins). Obviously, many of these in Patience environment, matters related to actual system factors will be dealt with during the early field implementation become more prominent. planning and engineering stages, and will be incorporated into the design. One of these external components, falling somewhere between the two groups of primary These and other particular considerations tasks is the acquisition of route right-of-way combined provide a starting point for any and any required permits, license agreements effective route right-of-way and permitting or occupancy fees for the proposed system acquisition needs analysis. Ideally, the analysis build. Unlike the above-mentioned categories will be conducted through a route and permitting which tend to be more structured and better feasibility study, a comprehensive investigation accommodated for the planning, budgeting of all issues related to the legal installation of and scheduling processes, right-of way and the proposed system as designed. Although permitting is often much less predictable, both in the following summary deals primarily with a scope of work and timeframes for completion. fiber optic cable system scenario, many of the same permitting demands may also apply for a Depending on conditions unique to each such wireless network build. proposed undertaking, the process and relative By ease (or difficulty) of acquiring right-of-way To begin with, a determination must be and the variety of installation permits could made about which governmental entities or John Weisbruch range from a very simple and streamlined subdivisons have jurisdiction over the 44 geographic territory to be traversed by a buried utilities within the same right-of-way, and the often unable or unwilling to provide any accurate cable (or located by site presence via wireless) possibility of needing to relocate a buried estimate for overall permitting costs prior to an system. Then, each of these controlling system if the road authority schedules a lane internal plan appraisal. authorities must be contacted individually widening or periodic reconstruction. in order to ascertain what activity permits, In conjunction with the progression to the state occupancy fees, licensing agreements, zoning After the municipal and local concerns have and federal levels of government involvement, waivers or other legal clearances may be been explored, county and regional seats of agencies with environmental permitting and required, if any, for both the installation phase of government should be next on the contact oversight authority should be next in line the project and the perpetual presence of such list. Usually, but certainly not always, a county for inquiry. A list of these state and federal a system and its facilities or components in each or township defers to local political entities in permitting authorities could include the U.S. of these jurisdictions. matters of permitting when the work will take Army Corps of Engineers, departments of place within the limits of an incorporated town, environmental protection, fish and wildlife These types of legal requirements may be borough, village or city. Exceptions may occur protection, soil and water resources protection, either inclusive of, or apart from any additional when a county or township road within a local cultural and archaeological preservation, and installation permits required by parallel entity is owned or maintained by the county or public parks. departments within a specific local entity. township. Other regional agencies with possible For instance, municipal road, sewer and involvement may include an area council of In many ways, this area of interest can trump all water, electric utility and other public works government, planning and zoning commission, other permitting issues if project activity will be departments or agencies may require permits board of supervisors, or development conducted in or near any sensitive and restricted and impose various fees independent of those commission. area. Initial efforts of the planning group should of the central administration. Sometimes have already taken into account any obvious these permits are for the parallel use of street It is important to point out that even the most impact the proposed system might have on such and road right-of-way (linear occupancy) for thorough feasibility study will not be able an area. Nevertheless, a certain amount of in- a cable system; other times the permits are to provide more than a general estimate of depth environmental impact assessment will only for the rights to cross or intersect these the total numbers of individual permits or likely need to be conducted in order to satisfy streets and roads (thus occupying only the agreements that will be required, or their total requirements at various levels of government. areas under these public way crossings) when anticipated costs. Typically, each bureaucracy Even the most innocuous of projects, perhaps right-of-way from another provider is utilized has its own submittal and permitting review one lying entirely within an established utility either side of these intersections. In many standards, and each has considerable discretion corridor or along a busy roadway will require cases, linear occupancy of a public roadway in how regulatory codes and ordinances should some environmental permitting and review may be allowed under a single right-of-way be applied. In many cases, a written proposal, processes. An environmental consultant installation permit, making this option the best plan drawing or map will need to be submitted could be indispensable for handling these for simplicity and permit cost. The downside for review by engineering and administrative complexities and, if hired, they should be tradeoffs of occupying public road right-of-way staff, and then forwarded to their attorney for included in the planning aspects of the project include having to contend with other utilities a legal opinion before any specific permitting as soon as possible. and the consequent exposure to associated requirements can be outlined. As a result of maintenance activities of these competing this ambiguity, officials in these communities are 45 Though a buried system may not require more greatly reducing the likelihood of any plan John Weisbruch has than a minimal amount of surface and upper soil rejection or permit disapproval. The expense been involved in the horizon disturbance during construction, pre- in time and money required for preparing an telecoms for over 20 and post-construction concerns and conditions amended application, a re-submittal, and years. He completed can add time and expense in the form of a second review could delay final acceptance and a BA in Geography more detailed installation plan mandatory for approval by many weeks or months; and project at the University of the application submittal and review. Soil planning and construction scheduling would be Houston Central Campus conservation districts, for example, require delayed indefinitely as a result. then worked as a details regarding erosion and drainage control Marine Technician on measures for construction, as well as for post- Remaining tasks for the feasibility study could international scientific research ship. After four activity surface and vegetation restoration. include the development of one or more route years in a very intensive work environment, Waterway crossings – ranging from wetlands, alternatives, in the event that parts or maybe the with many unique professional and associated rivers, streams, creeks, and even man-made entire original route proves to be unsatisfactory. international travel experiences, he transitioned canals or drainage ditches intersected by Also, private property tracts lying in the path of into the field of telecommunications route the proposed system must be identified and the proposed route could be noted, and then permitting and right-of-way acquisition. delineated on any application plans or maps; researched at the local land records office in He has been involved in a wide range of this will require adhering to strict standards order to determine basic facts such as numbers telecommunications projects – fiberoptic, which specify the criteria to be used for this of separate tracts, and the names of the cellular and microwave – and has performed identification activity, particularly for wetlands individual land owners that would be involved. work in a variety of project specializations. areas. Negotiating with individual property owners His areas of expertise include submarine & is usually deferred until the acquisition phase terrestrial rights of way acquisition; route/ Permit fee amounts are usually determined by of the project, though some companies may site feasibility investigation; permitting; route the type and number of separate applications choose to pursue potentially vital sections of a development; pre-construction surveying and the project will require, and these particulars are route as soon as possible. engineering coordination with local property usually outlined during a pre-application meeting owners and governmental entities; and An experienced right-of-way and permitting with the involved agencies or departments. construction and installation oversight. He specialist, in close cooperation with the planning Using an environmental specialist at this stage joined WFN Strategies in 2006 as Rights of and engineering staff, can certainly perform could be of great benefit, both in potential cost Way Manager based in Texas. savings and overall time frame. A detailed and many field implementation tasks throughout clearly targeted plan presentation at a pre- the lifespan of a project. Although tangible application meeting can work to minimize the results from these pursuits may not always number of agencies involved, and required translate into a fixed number on an accounting permits, by narrowing the focus on the proposed spreadsheet, the contributions of these field activity and any anticipated environmental agents can be essential nonetheless to the impact. Further, a professionally researched overall success of these system installation and accurately prepared formal application activities. package should move through the review and approval process as quickly as possible, thereby 46 ince 2001, Submarine Telecoms Website Banners Forum has been the platform for Post your web linked banner to the home Sdiscourse on submarine telecom page, as well as News-Now sections of the cable and network operations. Industry Submarine Telecoms Forum website, where professionals provide editorial content some 5000+ readers can come as often as from their own niche and focus. every week to view the latest news feed, or Each bi-monthly edition includes our bi-monthly magazine. commentary and information on system and service provision, and issues critical Rates US$ 3 Months 6 Months 12 Months to the industry. Homepage 1,026 1,711 2,737 News-Now 1,540 2,566 4,106 Advertising Rates Both 2,311 3,850 6,159 Magazine pages Rates US$ 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x Feature Section Sponsorship Page 3,066 2,974 2,882 2,790 2,698 2,606 Available at full-page advertisement rate, section sponsors 2/3 page 2,261 2,193 2,125 2,057 1,989 1,921 are identified with a banner (link) at the beginning and 1/3 page 1,459 1,415 1,371 1,328 1,284 1,240 end of the featured section. All advertising rates effective as of January 2008. Advertising enquiries Tel: (703) 444 2527 Fax: (703) 349 5562 [email protected] 47 A global guide to the latest known locations of the world’s cableships*, as of March 2008. Information Provided by Lloyds List. ARRIVAL SAILED VESSEL NAME PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME DATE DATE Acergy Discovery 2/1/2008 2/1/2008 Praia(CPV) Republic of Cape Verde 2/14/2008 2/14/2008 Cadiz Spain 2/8/2008 2/13/2008 Cadiz Spain 2/15/2008 2/15/2008 Ceuta Spain 2/16/2008 2/16/2008 Almeria Spain Asean Explorer 1/20/2008 1/21/2008 Colombo Sri Lanka 1/23/2008 1/28/2008 Pasir Gudang Malaysia 1/17/2008 1/18/2008 Gresik Indonesia 1/11/2008 1/11/2008 Gresik Indonesia 2/24/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore 2/11/2008 2/17/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore 2/2/2008 2/11/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore 1/20/2008 1/23/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore Atlantic Guardian 2/1/2008 2/2/2008 Cape Town South Africa 2/12/2008 Takoradi Ghana 1/17/2008 1/18/2008 Male Republic of Maldives Bold Endurance 1/16/2008 2/4/2008 Tampa United States of America C.S.Sovereign 2/21/2008 2/21/2008 Brunsbuttel Germany 1/26/2008 2/19/2008 Portland(GBR) United Kingdom 1/25/2008 1/26/2008 Portland(GBR) United Kingdom 2/20/2008 2/20/2008 Dover Strait United Kingdom Cable Innovator 2/26/2008 2/29/2008 Yokohama Japan 2/17/2008 2/21/2008 Yokohama Japan 2/22/2008 2/25/2008 Hitachi Japan Cable Retriever 2/14/2008 Kaohsiung Taiwan * Over 1000 tons 48 ARRIVAL SAILED VESSEL NAME PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME DATE DATE Certamen 2/13/2008 2/23/2008 Catania Italy 1/12/2008 1/12/2008 Catania Italy 1/12/2008 1/12/2008 Augusta Italy 2/23/2008 2/23/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar DP Reel 1/21/2008 1/22/2008 Alexandria(EGY) Arab Republic of Egypt Eclipse 2/21/2008 2/22/2008 Fujairah Anch. United Arab Emirates 2/29/2008 3/1/2008 Galle Sri Lanka 1/17/2008 2/9/2008 Ajman United Arab Emirates Elektron 1/15/2008 1/16/2008 Stavanger Norway 2/6/2008 2/6/2008 Copenhagen Denmark 1/12/2008 1/12/2008 Peterhead United Kingdom 1/13/2008 1/14/2008 Tyne United Kingdom 2/7/2008 2/8/2008 Norrkoping Sweden 2/5/2008 2/5/2008 Skaw Denmark 2/11/2008 2/12/2008 Drammen Norway 1/16/2008 1/17/2008 Drammen Norway Fjordkabel 1/28/2008 1/29/2008 Harstad Norway 1/11/2008 1/12/2008 Harstad Norway 1/27/2008 1/28/2008 Tromso Norway Geo Atlantic 2/16/2008 2/17/2008 Darwin Australia 1/16/2008 1/21/2008 Darwin Australia Geo Challenger 1/8/2008 1/10/2008 Port Said Arab Republic of Egypt 1/10/2008 1/10/2008 Suez Arab Republic of Egypt Geowave Commander 1/8/2008 1/11/2008 Lome Togo 1/11/2008 1/11/2008 Bissau Guinea-Bissau Geowave Master 1/9/2008 1/10/2008 Bergen Norway 2/26/2008 Esbjerg Denmark 1/23/2008 1/30/2008 Tromso Norway 1/13/2008 1/17/2008 Tromso Norway Giulio Verne 2/13/2008 2/13/2008 Pozzuoli Italy 2/19/2008 2/19/2008 Dover Strait United Kingdom 2/13/2008 2/13/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar Global Sentinel 2/11/2008 2/12/2008 Manzanillo(MEX) Mexico 49 ARRIVAL SAILED VESSEL NAME PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME DATE DATE Global Sentinel 2/10/2008 2/11/2008 Manzanillo(MEX) Mexico 1/18/2008 1/19/2008 Manzanillo(MEX) Mexico 3/2/2008 Portland(OR USA) United States of America 2/18/2008 2/27/2008 Portland(OR USA) United States of America Gulmar Badaro 1/19/2008 1/19/2008 Port Said Arab Republic of Egypt Ile de Batz 2/26/2008 Hitachi Japan Ile de Brehat 1/31/2008 2/1/2008 Everingen Netherlands 2/3/2008 2/6/2008 Brest France 2/2/2008 2/2/2008 Dover Strait United Kingdom Ile de Sein 2/4/2008 2/6/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore KDD Pacific Link 1/26/2008 1/26/2008 Busan Republic of Korea 1/27/2008 Kitakyushu Japan Leon Thevenin 2/12/2008 Brest France Lodbrog 2/12/2008 2/13/2008 Taichung Taiwan 1/15/2008 1/16/2008 Taichung Taiwan 1/25/2008 2/4/2008 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 1/13/2008 1/15/2008 Kaohsiung Taiwan Maersk Recorder 2/17/2008 2/17/2008 Suez Arab Republic of Egypt 1/23/2008 1/27/2008 Rosyth United Kingdom 2/1/2008 2/1/2008 Tarifa Spain 1/12/2008 1/22/2008 Tees United Kingdom 1/28/2008 1/28/2008 Dover Strait United Kingdom 2/13/2008 2/13/2008 Messina Strait Italy Maersk Responder 2/15/2008 2/22/2008 Arendal Norway 1/18/2008 2/10/2008 Tees United Kingdom 2/24/2008 2/24/2008 Dover Strait United Kingdom 1/10/2008 1/10/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar Nexans Skagerrak 1/8/2008 1/9/2008 Las Palmas Canary Islands 1/30/2008 2/2/2008 New Haven United States of America Niwa 3/1/2008 3/2/2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 1/12/2008 1/15/2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Normand Clipper 2/20/2008 2/24/2008 Charleston United States of America 1/30/2008 2/19/2008 Charleston United States of America 50 ARRIVAL SAILED VESSEL NAME PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME DATE DATE Normand Cutter 2/18/2008 2/19/2008 Limassol Cyprus 1/13/2008 2/16/2008 Alexandria(EGY) Arab Republic of Egypt Pacific Guardian 2/5/2008 2/9/2008 Tampa United States of America 2/1/2008 2/3/2008 Tampa United States of America Peter Faber 1/25/2008 1/25/2008 Port Said Arab Republic of Egypt 1/23/2008 1/25/2008 Jeddah Saudi Arabia 1/22/2008 1/23/2008 Jeddah Saudi Arabia 1/19/2008 1/19/2008 Aden Yemeni Republic 1/8/2008 1/8/2008 Colombo Sri Lanka Polar Queen 1/19/2008 2/1/2008 Pointe Noire(COG) The Congo 2/1/2008 Luanda Angola Raymond Croze 1/8/2008 1/8/2008 Istanbul Turkey 1/10/2008 1/11/2008 Kalamata Greece 2/18/2008 2/18/2008 Catania Italy 1/14/2008 1/14/2008 Augusta Italy 1/14/2008 1/14/2008 Messina Strait Italy 2/24/2008 2/24/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar 2/28/2008 2/28/2008 Valencia Spain 2/22/2008 2/22/2008 Valencia Spain 2/4/2008 2/18/2008 Alexandria(EGY) Arab Republic of Egypt Rene Descartes 2/16/2008 2/19/2008 Limassol Cyprus 2/20/2008 2/20/2008 Suez Arab Republic of Egypt 2/11/2008 2/12/2008 Valletta Malta 1/20/2008 1/27/2008 Piraeus Greece 1/9/2008 1/9/2008 Syros Greece Rubicon Maverick 2/6/2008 2/19/2008 Limassol Cyprus 1/11/2008 2/6/2008 Abu Kir Arab Republic of Egypt 2/20/2008 Alexandria(EGY) Arab Republic of Egypt 1/9/2008 1/11/2008 Alexandria(EGY) Arab Republic of Egypt Salma 2/21/2008 2/22/2008 St. Vincent(CPV) Republic of Cape Verde 1/30/2008 1/30/2008 St. Vincent(CPV) Republic of Cape Verde 2/10/2008 2/11/2008 Setubal Portugal 1/8/2008 1/23/2008 Setubal Portugal 51 ARRIVAL SAILED VESSEL NAME PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME DATE DATE Salma 2/16/2008 2/16/2008 Las Palmas Canary Islands 1/26/2008 1/26/2008 Las Palmas Canary Islands SD Newton 1/11/2008 2/4/2008 Devonport(GBR) United Kingdom 2/4/2008 Falmouth United Kingdom Seamec Princess 2/20/2008 Sharjah United Arab Emirates Skandi Neptune 1/30/2008 1/30/2008 U.S. Gulf United States of America 1/30/2008 Mobile United States of America Subaru 1/30/2008 2/9/2008 Hitachi Japan Teliri 2/12/2008 2/16/2008 Luanda Angola Texas Horizon 1/27/2008 2/4/2008 Marsaxlokk Malta 1/23/2008 1/23/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar Tyco Decisive 2/4/2008 2/4/2008 Suez Arab Republic of Egypt 2/22/2008 Singapore Republic of Singapore 1/27/2008 1/27/2008 Gibraltar Gibraltar Tyco Durable 1/20/2008 1/24/2008 Keelung Taiwan 1/20/2008 1/20/2008 Keelung Taiwan Tyco Responder 1/15/2008 1/16/2008 San Juan(PRI) Puerto Rico 1/8/2008 1/8/2008 San Juan(PRI) Puerto Rico 1/16/2008 2/8/2008 Cozumel Mexico 1/16/2008 2/8/2008 Cozumel Mexico 2/8/2008 2/9/2008 Curacao Netherlands Antilles Tycom Reliance 2/26/2008 Keelung Taiwan 1/20/2008 1/26/2008 Hitachi Japan 1/29/2008 2/1/2008 Kitakyushu Japan Umm Al Anber 2/18/2008 2/18/2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 1/22/2008 1/25/2008 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Wave Mercury 1/30/2008 2/7/2008 Yokohama Japan 2/9/2008 2/20/2008 Hitachi Japan Wave Sentinel 2/11/2008 2/20/2008 Portland(GBR) United Kingdom Wave Venture 1/28/2008 2/16/2008 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 52 WarriorSomebody event mentioned was still the in following everyone’s to me: memory. “Have It youis noticed for these that reasons all the amongtraditional others suppliers that STC were (UK) presentrejected at the the Tyco Alcatel‘s party? suggestion It seems that to comethey need with a each other more than they need new customers! I joint bid, to offer a “European” solution. am glad to see HSN stepping in.” One of the winning factors has been the Letter to a friend Port-BotanyAs a result HSN, cable namely factory. Ian SuchDouglas a factory the CEO, was a wasstrong the only requirement “supplier” fromat the OTC roundtable (now Telstra) and not and from Jean Devos a singlethe Australian member of Government.the other suppliers’ teams were in the room. Ian could then develop the traditional Alcatel was the most motivated. Such a language of any new comer: “I am coming because youfactory need me.could It expand is the market its influence who requests in the Pacific my presence!where “the God three bless other Huawei! players They were are historically coming to “savewell established the world”! in this region, which represents the Q&A part of the Submarine cable workshop a large part of their market. They saw this Hawaiian Huawei! that it is only logical for any Government to take Personally, I would prefer a more sincere language:factory “ asI am a coming risk for because their existingthis will be facilities! good care of the “digital divide” and contemplate the SubOptic ‘87 in Versailles came at the right time. My friend, possibility to fund the infrastructure connecting the for me.” It is where the Australian teams discovered the remote communities. It was a pleasure to meet you once again at PTC and l’Astrolabe, landed in 1788 to discover that FrenchMy Friend, model, do not a close misunderstand cooperation me here: between I see the HSN coming in as a very, very, important My08, and thanksDear for the MaiFriend Tai at the Tapa bar! CaptainMy Friend, Cook the was most already fascinating around part, bearing was the the Alcatel and FT, exactly what they wanted to es- event for our industry and the consequences, if they launchingBritish flag. of Huawei So Botany Submarine Bay isNetworks now for -- meLet’s the tablish in their country. “BotanyAmong Bay” many other impressions I brought back succeed, are going to be significant! Most likely home, I‘ll keep in mind the beautiful Tuesday callsymbol it HSN. of aAs dream you know, which HSN becomes is a JV a betweenreality! My friend, things are changed since, but Huawei and Global Marine. HSN was all over the the beginning of the supply industry restructuring! Ievening published and recentlythe overcrowded, a modest gorgeous, novel, whose brilliant, title Tasman 2 has been yet another chapter one thing stays true: When you offer something, place, giving papers, speaking at workshops and It will take some time; the barrier to entry is quite Tata Telecom poolside party! A changing world! in this long Anglo-French competition! The is Botany Bay. It is the place in Australia where roundtables! It seems that the incumbent suppliers high.the HSN reader still can have see some between way to the go, linesbut it ifis youtrue are I left this party, walked alongAlcatel the beach established on such a award to Alcatel came out as a big surprise to thator the not market genuinely will welcome motivated such anda new sincere. comer! Then a beautiful evening and joined the Orange had decided to let HSN occupy the floor and capture submarine cable fac- many, including inside Alcatel. Everybody was your offer becomes really attractive and this confidential reception on the lawn of the Royal the attention of the audience. Even though present at As you can see my friend, PTC ‘08 was once Hawaiian hotel! At least I wastory able in 1989to sit thereas part and of thenaturally Hilton Hawaiian expecting Village, the British they barely to win showed that atbat- againopens the placethe route to be! to “Botany Bay.” its contract for the alltle, these and sessions such anso well expectation handled by was John at Hibbard! that time enjoy some good local food and good Australian And not only for the Ukulele and the Mai Tai! wine in a lovely atmosphere,Tasman ukulele 2 link. local In music this Theyvery are logical. overbooked! They do not need to spend See you soon. time and effort to gain new customers. They do in the background! I was ablesame to speak bay, wheremy mother two There were so many difficulties and Aloha, not feel it necessary to explain how good they are; language, chatting with thecenturies managers before of OPT the misunderstanding between Australia and they do not need to convince how they differentiate Jean Devos Tahiti and from other “FrenchFrench Pacific expedition islands.” France, the main one being the French presence Jean DevosSubmarcom Consulting Sorry for my Australian friends who are showing themselves from their competitors! This is not “La Pérouse” made of in the Pacific area, the worse being the nuclear sometimes some nervosness about this!!?. I would the attitude one would expect from them. Do they two ships, La Boussole bomb experiment in Tahiti! The sad Rainbow have liked to explained to Graham Lynch who led realise that people are attending such an event, at a high cost, to hear from them, to learn from them? 53 44 Conference Date Venue www ENTELEC 2008 9-11 April 2008 Houston, Texas USA www.entelec.org ICPC 2008 22-24 April 2008 Reykjavík, Iceland www.iscpc.org Offshore Technology Conference 5-8 May 2008 Houston, Texas USA www.otcnet.org ITU Telecom Africa 12-15 May 2008 Cairo, Egypt www.itu.int/AFRICA2008 Submarine Networks World 2008 18-20 August 2008 Singapore www.terrapinn.com/2008/snw/index.stm ITU Telecom Asia 2-5 September 2008 Bangkok, Thailand www.itu.int/ASIA2008 Offshore Communications 4-6 November 2008 Houston, Texas USA www.offshorecoms.com Conference 2008 Pacific Telecoms Conference 2009 18-21 January 2009 Honolulu, Hawaii USA www.ptc.org SubOptic 2010 11-14 May 2010 Yokohama, Japan www.suboptic.org 54