Issue 25 March 2006 Submarine Telecoms Forum Is Published Bi-Monthly by WFN Strategies, L.L.C

Finance & Legal Edition

Issue 25 March 2006 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 ExordiumWelcome to the March 2006, 25th issue of Submarine Telecoms Forum, our Finance & permission of the publishers. Legal edition. Submarine Telecoms Forum is an independent com Spring has well and truly come to Virginia. The daffodils planted seasons before are mercial publication, serving as a freely accessible forum for coming up much more plentiful now. We are appreciating an early thaw with the professionals in industries connected with submarine optical promise of a bountiful harvest to come. And, funny enough, this month’s articles reflect fibre technologies and techniques. a similar exuberance and wistful optimism not seen for some time. Liability: while every care is taken in preparation of this Authors, who have come through and are willing to put their proverbial heads on the publication, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the block of public opinion, have provided, once again, some excellent industry insight for accuracy of the information herein, or any errors which may your consideration. occur in advertising or editorial content, or any consequence arising from any errors or omissions. John Manock discusses the positive trends ahead for the submarine systems market, while Jim Bishop and John Walker enhance the continuing cable security discussion. The publisher cannot be held responsible for any views expressed by contributors, and the editor reserves the right Daryl Chaires describes the benefits of all-Raman technology, while Ray Drabble to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for assesses the environmental risks of cable decommissioning. Stewart Ash describes publication. recent UJ developments, and Andy Bax announces a recent technology acquisition. We reprise Richard Faint’s excellent article about the ‘terrors’ of cyberspace, as Andy Shaw © WFN Strategies L.L.C., 2006 informs about the re-birth of an old industry brand name. We conclude the multi-part serialization by Bob Bannon and Doug Burnett of terrorism and cable infrastructure Contributions are welcomed. Please forward to the concerns. Jean Devos returns with his ever-insightful observations, and of course, our Managing Editor: Wayne F. Nielsen, WFN Strategies, ever popular “where in the world are all those pesky cableships” is included as well. 19471 Youngs Cliff Road, Suite 100, Potomac Falls, Virginia 20165, USA. Happy reading and we hope you enjoy this edition, and offer in closing the reflections of Don Corleone who once opined in awe, “A lawyer with his briefcase can Tel: +[1] 703 444-2527, Fax:+[1] 703 444-3047. steal more than a hundred men with guns.” Email: [email protected]

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Advertisers ContentsIssue No 25 Emails to the Editor 4 A2Sea 43 March 2006 NewsNow 5-9 CTC 5-9 Recovery Year Behind Us With a Solid Book Global Marine Systems 33 Great Eastern 37 of Business Ahead John Manock 12-14 Nexans 11 THERE IS NO SAFETY IN NUMBERS…(James Thurber) Mobius Group 38 THE SECURITY ISSUES OF MULTIPLE CABLE LANDINGS. OFS 15 Jim Bishop and John Walker 16-18 STF Advertising 10 Unrepeatered Submarine Links Benefit STF Reprints 4 Xtera 20 From All-Raman Technology Daryl Chaires 19-20 WFNS 44 Submarine Cable Decommissioning: Assessing the Environmental Risks Ray Drabble 21-24 Where does the UJ Consortium go from here? Stewart Ash 26-30 Global Marine Technology Update Andy Bax 31-32 In Space No One Can Hear You Scream Richard Faint 34-37 Underwater Infrastructure Protection, Risk, Mitigation, and Pro-Active Prosecution: Part III Robert Bannon and Doug Burnett 39-43 Rising Anew From The Ashes Andy Shaw 45 Tracking the Cableships 46-50 Letter to a Friend Jean Devos 51 Upcoming Conferences 52

Middle East above 3 options. If, for example, RTD is of option those segments of the route than there was The oldest and traditional fiber optic route is Thankmum importanceyou for yourto the Email buyer, then the new two or three years ago. Emails to and Ithe was short impressed cut towith the Issue 23. Can ��Good day to you all at WFN. You via the Middle East, using the systems of Flag additional option of routing via Russia, one The likely trend in prices of capacity on Submarineyou please Telecoms subscribe Forum. me to SubTel guys are doing a great job. I would assume, will be of great interest. the route via Russia and Mongolia is very hard Euro Asia or SEA-ME-WE-3. I brieflyForum? visited this got�� the SubTel Forum calendar. Many thanks to you guys. I look theThese two Editor submarine systems were im- websiteFuture and price found movements, the by nature, are of to predict. There are relatively few suppliers ca- John Walrod forward to meeting you at one of mensely significant developments at their time course very difficult to predict. The USD 35 000 pable of provisioning end-to-end circuits and informationAsst. VP, to SAIC be quite A confidentialthe conferences service forthis the year.supply of of construction. They are essentially branched interesting.representsAdvanced a small Systems reduction Division on prices over the therefore the intensity of competition is not as Spectacular job putting specialized positions for the submarine systems designed to provide connectivity to past 12 months. Price reduction in the last year cablegreatAlabaja sectors as either Kayodeserving of the oil.J other& gas, routes. telecoms The existence thisWayne, together...it’s very Chairman/CEO, Kay Global Limited, large numbers of countries en route. Ring pro- Billhas beenBrock, small For compared BP with the annual re- andof defense the other industries routes nevertheless should con- impressive. �Nigeria tected Thankssubmarine very systems much in forother the oceans 2006 of the Americaduction of Production circa 50 % p.a. Cothat has been recorded tinueDirect to Placementact as a downward Support pressure on prices Submarine Telecoms Forum Calendar. � Executive Search world were developed later and neither Flag nor over previous years. We can but hope that prices on the shortest route. Dr.Very Williammuch appreciated. J. Barattino, � Confidential Reply Service across the Atlantic, across continental USA and The growth of predicted traffic to China SMW-3Global are, in themselves,Broadband ring systems. Resto- Wayne, ration Solutions,Alsoof Flag congratulations and SMW-3 LLC has to onbe createdyour 5th us- Thanksacross the for Pacific a greathave now read stabilised. As regards Visitover our thewebsite coming or contact: years is well known. Indeed year of publication. ing support of capacity one from the other or andthe Itrendseven received inthough prices the onthe 2006the route SubTel via the Forum Middle [email protected] Fontaine Telecom is pro-active in being a part of calendar, thank you very much. Managing Associate – Recruitment from other,You created less immense a forum systems for which all paral-of us inbusinessEast, the prices is “wayof Europe-Asia down capacity follow- this business, launching plans to develop busi- It is very nice. I’m already WFN Strategies, LLC the Sub-Cable industry and I am surewhere the music plays”, lel some of the route. ing campaigningthat route have to declined be a part less dramaticallyof it [email protected]@wfnstrategies.com3 in Europe by opening a new office in the Iteveryone was quite cheers informative your initiative; wherever that may be, The RTD is circa 230 ms. Prices are quoted overnext the previous year. five years yet we can see noth- [+1]UK. 410-268-2036 The company, which has already made andhere’s interesting. to celebrating I do the not 10th year.thereDaryl is alwaysChaires a light by various suppliers, offering a range of prices ing to cause upward pressure on prices on that similar moves into the North American mar- think that you will be at theDirector end of of theMarketing, tunnel/ Xtera Job seekers can forward CVRésumé to our normallySteve at leastSilvano double those via USA/trans- route.Communications ket, is believed to be tracking corporate custom- willingTSI Telecom to provideEnterprises such cable. confidential résumé database at Pacifican option. information services Indeed, with new cables opening up be- ers [email protected] bases in Europe and China. Itfree is obviously of charge apparent for thata long the buyer’s Miketween Wiseman, India and SingaporeEsq. and onward to East- China Telecom was granted an operat- criteriatime. will decide which route to use from the ern Asia, there is now a lot more competition ing licence in the US two years ago, enabling

Best regards, Good work on the latest QUANTITY edition. 00 200 500 Sumio Yamano, Sumitomo 100 200 500 Ocean Development & Les K. Valentine, NEXANS2-page B&WB&W [email protected]$50.00 $65.00 $130.00 Engineering Co. Ltd. Norway 2-page ColorColor $260.00�� $360.00 $600.00 4-page B&WB&W $100.00 $130.00 $260.00 REPRINTS 6 REPRINTS 4-page ColorColor $520.00 $720.00 $1200.00 Prices on the right are for digital reprints of editorial pages from Submarine 6-page B&W $150.00 $200.00 $400.00 Prices on the right are for digital reprints of editorial pages from 6-page B&W $150.00 $200.00 $400.00 Telecoms Forum, unaltered. Page size is 8.25” x 11.75” on 28lb paper stock. Submarine Telecoms Forum, unaltered. Page size is 8.25" x 11.75" 6-page ColorColor $790.00 $1080.00 $1800.00 Shipping cost is in addition to reprint price. 31 on 28lb paper stock. Shipping cost is in addition to reprint price. ForFor more information information contact contact [email protected] [email protected]. . Thank you for your Email Emails to and the short cut to the �� Submarine Telecoms Forum. I briefly visited this �� the Editor website and found the information to be quite A confidential service for the supply of interesting. Spectacular job putting specialized positions for the submarine cable sectors serving oil & gas, telecoms this together...it’s very Bill Brock, For BP and defense industries impressive. America Production Co � Direct Placement Support � Executive Search Dr. William J. Barattino, � Confidential Reply Service Global Broadband Solutions, LLC Thanks for a great read Visit our website or contact: and even though the [email protected] Fontaine business is “way down Managing Associate – Recruitment where the music plays”, WFN Strategies, LLC [email protected]@wfnstrategies.com3 It was quite informative wherever that may be, [+1] 410-268-2036 and interesting. I do not there is always a light think that you will be at the end of the tunnel/ Job seekers can forward CVRésumé to our willing to provide such cable. confidential résumé database at an information services [email protected] free of charge for a long Mike Wiseman, Esq. time.

Best regards, Good work on the latest edition. Sumio Yamano, Sumitomo Ocean Development & Les K. Valentine, NEXANS [email protected] Engineering Co. Ltd. Norway ��

6 Bookham Says Its Lasers Getting Attention from Submarine Cable Industry Bookham, Inc., a leading provider of optical components, modules and subsystems, is highlighting its industry-leading line of 980nm pump laser modules at next month’s OFC/NFOEC 2006 by A synopsis of current news items from NewsNow, the weekly news feed available on the releasing reliability figures that exceed all expectations for such Submarine Telecoms Forum website. devices in terrestrial applications. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm

Alcatel to Upgrade Global Crossing’s MAC Cable AT&T Outlines Plans for Global Network Expansion BT Deploys Global IP-based Voice Platform Alcatel announced that it has signed a turnkey contract with Global AT&T Inc. has announced details of its 2006 plans to expand its BT has announced a £12 million investment in a first of its kind Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC), which owns and operates the world’s global network, providing enhanced connectivity in the United global voice platform based on Internet protocol (IP). first integrated global IP-based network, to upgrade its Mid Atlantic States and around the world in order to meet the growing demands www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm Crossing (MAC) submarine cable network linking North America, of its multinational enterprise customers. Latin America, Europe and the Pacific. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm C&W to Sell Stake in Batelco Batelco has confirmed that it has been informed about Cable & Bell Labs Announces Breakthrough in 100 Gbps Wireless’ decision to sell their 20 percent stake in Bahrain’s leading Asia Netcom Picks Lucent New EAC Optical Ethernet-Over-Optical information and communication’s company. Platform In a paper presented to the Optical Fiber Communication www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm Asia Netcom, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Netcom, has Conference & Exposition (OFC) in Anaheim today, Bell Labs, the selected Lucent Technologies to supply a next-generation optical research and development arm of Lucent Technologies, announced Cameroon’s Carrier for Sale communications platform needed to upgrade its pan-Asian the first reported optical transport of electronically multiplexed 107 submarine cable network, known as EAC. Gbps data. Cameroon’s incumbent carrier, Camtel, is up for sale. The Ministry www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm of Economy and Finance has invited strategic partners to make their proposal to acquire 51% of the company. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm Asia Netcom Provides Capacity for Asiakomnet Asia Netcom, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Netcom, has been selected by Indonesian competitive carrier, Asiakomnet, to provide an extensive network connectivity between Singapore and 134087 strategicCTC Ad markets 297x42.5 in North 12/1/06 Asia as well 11a02 as the AMUS. Page 1 www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm

CTC Marine Projects Ltd. Cutting Edge Cable Capability Across the World Coniscliffe House, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7EE, England Tel: +44 (0) 1325 390 500 Fax: +44 (0) 1325 390 555 Email: [email protected] INSTALLATION BURIAL MAINTENANCE Web: www.ctcmarine.com Global Marine launches GeoCable version 5.2 Submarine Cabling Software Package Global Marine Systems Limited, the independent market-leading subsea cable installation and maintenance company, has launched version 5.2 of its unique GeoCable marine engineering software package. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm Chunghwa Telecom Selects FLAG Telecom for Farice increases reliability in UK backhaul Taiwan Academic Network For the past months Farice has been preparing a reduntant route Global Marine Outlines Regional Network FLAG Telecom has announced a multi-million dollar contract for 2 in the UK backhaul between the landing station at Dunnet Bay in Technology Solution x 10 Gbps Wavelengths with Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s leading North Scotland and Farice’s Point of Presence. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm Following up on its announcement last month that it was acquiring telecom operator. the assets of Red Sky Systems, Global Marine has outlined its www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm regional submarine cable technology solution. Global Crossing Reports Growth in Converged IP www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm Corning to Present 2005 Optical Fiber Market Services Overview Global Crossing has announced that the number of customers Global Marine presents The VENUS Experience at Corning Incorporated provided its perspective on the 2005 utilizing two or more converged IP services on its global fiber-optic Scientific Submarine Cable 2006 worldwide optical fiber market with a focus on global fiber-to-the- network more than tripled in 2005, highlighting the company’s success in attracting enterprises and carriers to its high- Global Marine Systems Limited, the independent market-leading home (FTTH) activity. The 25th annual Optical Fiber Briefing was subsea cable installation and maintenance company, is pleased held via conference call and live audio webcast in conjunction with performance, robust suite of IP solutions. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm to announce that its Director of Engineering, Dr Phil Hart, will the OFC/NFOEC Conference in Anaheim, California. be presenting The VENUS Experience - A Case Study of the www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm Philosophy, Design & Implementation of an Undersea Observatory Network in Coastal British Columbia at 11.10am on Global Marine Installs Power/Telecom Cable in Wednesday 8th February at SSC06’ in Dublin. Etisalat Increases UAE Internet Bandwidth Sakhalin www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm Etisalat has announced a significant increase in Internet bandwidth Global Marine Systems Ltd. (GMSL) has completed the installation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a total of 33 STM-1 links of a power/telecom cable for an energy project on Sakhalin Island, Hibernia Atlantic Reports Record Growth being provisioned to meet user needs, compared to 15 in 2004. Russia. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm Hibernia Atlantic has announced that in the past 11 months, the company has experienced record-high growth in sales of leased 134087 CTC Ad 297x42.5 12/1/06 11a02 AM Page 1 Trans-Atlantic capacity. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm

New Pioneer Owners Promise Additional Capital to Provide New Products & Services to Clients ICC Completes St. Thomas-St. Croix Link Level 3 Adds Transatlantic Capacity Pioneer Consulting LLC announced today a change of ownership A new undersea fiber now operating between St. Thomas and St. Level 3 Communications has announced that it has signed a and management that reflects renewed confidence in the telecom Croix provides Virgin Island business, government and residential definitive agreement with Apollo Submarine Cable System Ltd., to sector and increased demand for market research and customized customers with complete fiber connectivity and network diversity secure additional transatlantic capacity for its international network. consulting services. both inter-island and to the U.S. mainland, it was announced www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm recently by Samuel Ebbesen, senior vice president of Innovative Communication Corporation (ICC). www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm Lucent, Japan Telecom Trial 40 Gbps System New SMD Hydrovision Production Facility In Full Japan Telecom and Lucent Technologies have announced Swing the successful completion of a field trial using Lucent’s IT International Telecom Completes Fibralink LambdaXtreme® Transport, an industry-leading 40 Gbps optical Phase 1 of SMD Hydrovision’s (SMDH) new production facility on Installation networking system. Lucent LambdaXtreme® Transport, which can the banks of the River Tyne in Newcastle is now complete, with the support both 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps traffic on the same system, is works in full swing with a number of exciting projects. IT International Telecom is pleased to announce that the Fibralink www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm cable network marine installation is complete. IT was responsible designed to help operators such as Japan Telecom address the for the marine installation through a direct contract with Columbus growing demand for high-bandwidth applications such as mobile Communications. broadband, IPTV and other multimedia services by dramatically NTT Optical Fiber Network Users Exceed One www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm increasing the speed and capacity of their optical transport networks. Million www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) has announced that KPN Wins Network Contract from German subscribers to its “Hikari” optical fiber network reached about 1.06 Research Network million as of the end of February. Magyar Telekom Enters Romania www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm KPN has been selected by the public German research network Deutsche Telekom’s Hungarian subsidiary, Maygyar Telekom, has association DFN as one of their long-term suppliers for the launched telephone services for business and residential customers implementation of the new scientific X-Win network. in Romania under the EUfonika brand. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm 134087 CTC Ad 297x42.5 12/1/06 11a02 AM Page 1

Offshore handling ‘know how’ wins Beatrice Phoenix Information Technology Manager SBSS Completed Installation of Segment 2 of offshore wind farm soft landing installation Recognized Jasuka contract Phoenix International, Inc., (Phoenix) is pleased to announce that S.B. Submarine Systems Co. Ltd. (SBSS) has announced that its Lifting a land based 85 metre high wind turbine, weighing 950 Information Technology (IT) Manager, Claudia Deborah Kutzleb, cable ship Fu Hai, equipped with the Hi-plough and ROV Sea Lion, tonnes, and placing it accurately and ‘softly’ onto its mounting is a has been selected by an independent panel of judges as a member has successfully completed the marine installation of Segment 2 of complex enough task – carrying out this task offshore in deepwater of the Federal 100 for 2005. the Jasuka Indonesian submarine system on January 9, 2006. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm while lifting from a floating barge presents a whole new set of www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm challenges. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm PROMET Unveils A Second FiBOTM Model For Shutterfly Selects Terremark’s NAP West to Unsurpassed Testing Efficiency Of Polished Fiber Consolidate Infrastructure Online Publication Reports Problems for EASSy Optic Ferrules In Situ Terremark Worldwide, Inc., a leading operator of integrated Although the EASSy consortium continues to tout its successes in FiBO™ 260, a true phase-shifting Michelson interferometer for Tier-1 Internet exchanges and a global provider of managed IT bringing new members into the consortium and raising money for non-contact fiber optic ferrule endface verification, offers 3D Infrastructure solutions for government and private sectors, has the project (see yesterday’s NewsFeed), others are more skeptical. surface mapping and 2D visual inspection capabilities, plus direct announced that Shutterfly, a leading independent online photo www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm interface with ferrules mounted on a polishing plate, eliminating service, has signed a multi-year, multi million dollar contract to reproducibility errors and saving valuable time. house their mission critical infrastructure at Terremark’s NAP West www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm facility in Santa Clara, California. Orascom Telecom Secures US$2 Billion Committed www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm Bank Facility Orascom Telecom Holding S. A. E. has announced that it is has secured a five-year senior secured debt facility totaling US$ 2.0 billion on a committed and underwritten basis. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm 134087 CTC Ad 297x42.5 12/1/06 11a02 AM Page 1

CTC Marine Projects Ltd. Cutting Edge Cable Capability Across the World Coniscliffe House, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7EE, England Tel: +44 (0) 1325 390 500 Fax: +44 (0) 1325 390 555 Email: [email protected] INSTALLATION BURIAL MAINTENANCE Web: www.ctcmarine.com Verizon Announces New International Business Structure Verizon Business, a unit of the newly combined Verizon and MCI, has announced a new structure and leadership team for its international business. Rory Cole will lead the international leadership team as chief operating officer. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm Sri Lanka Telecom Inaugurates Local Operations of TNZ Announces New Structure for Australian SEA-ME-WE-4 Operations Vietnam Turns Down BCC Plan, Wants Open Cable Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) recently inaugurated the local operations Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited (TNZ) has announced System of the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber optic submarine cable project – a that it is changing the structure of its Australian operations to enable According to a news story posted on the VNPT website, the multi-regional connectivity resource milestone spanning 20,000 greater focus on particular market segments. Vietnamese government has turned down Hong Kong-based kilometers. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm Tricom Asia’s proposal to build an international terabit submarine www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm cable line with VNPT using a business cooperation contract (BCC). Tyco Telecommunications (US) Inc. Lands Antilles www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm Telecom Italia Sets Goals Crossing Cable System Marco Tronchetti Provera, Chairman of Telecom Italia, and Riccardo Tyco Telecommunications today announced the completion of both VNPT Confirms Plans to Build Submarine Cable Ruggiero, Chief Executive Officer, recently presented Telecom Italia the St. Lucia and Barbados landings of the Antilles Crossing Cable Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) has confirmed that Group’s strategic guidelines and targets for the period 2006-2008 to System. it plans to build a new submarine cable system as back-up for the the financial community. www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine network, operated by Vietnam Telecom www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm International Company (VTI). www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/19_february_2006.htm US National Research Network Completed Telstra CEO Outlines Strategy for Growth National LambdaRail (NLR), a consortium of leading U.S. Chief Executive Officer, Sol Trujillo, recently outlined Telstra’s research universities and private sector technology companies, WFN Strategies Accomplishes Site Surveys for growth strategy for government officials and said that Telstra has announced that it has completed deployment of a nationwide World Bank Project was the only communications provider committed to providing all advanced optical, Ethernet and IP networking network infrastructure WFN Strategies, a provider of telecoms engineering and marine Australians with access to national high-speed wireless networks. on more than 15,000 miles of fiber optic cable across the United www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/5_march_2006.htm procurement services, recently accomplished the site visits for the States. Eastern Caribbean Submarine Cable System (ECSC), which is www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/26_february_2006.htm being developed by the World Bank. 134087 CTC Ad 297x42.5 12/1/06 11a02 AM Page 1 www.subtelforum.com/NewsNow/12_march_2006.htm

News-Now Page 810 1,350 2,160 Advertising Rates Both 1,216 2,026 3,240 Magazine pages Rates US$ 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x Feature Section Sponsorship Page 1613 1564 1516 1468 1419 1371 Available at full-page advertisement rate, section sponsors 2/3 page 1189 1154 1118 1082 1047 1011 are identified with a banner (link) at the beginning and end 1/3 page 768 744 721 698 675 652 of the featured section. All advertising rates as at December 2003.

Advertising enquiries Tel: [+1] (281) 531 7417 Fax: [+1] (281) 531 7456 [email protected] Submarine TelecomsFORUM 500 m

At submarine depths, goes deeper

Nexans was the first For further information, contact: Nexans Norway AS to manufacture and Telecom: P.O Box 6450 Etterstad, Vegard Larsen N-0605, Oslo Norway install 384 fiber Tel: + 47 22 88 62 21 Tel: + 47 22 88 61 00 submarine cable.Nexans E-mail: vegard-briggar. Fax: + 47 22 88 61 01 has qualified and [email protected] US Contact: installed their URC-1 Oil & Gas: Les Valentine Jon Seip Tel. +1 281 578 6900 cable family for fiber Tel: +47 22 88 66 22 Fax: +1 281 578 6991 counts up to 384 fibers. E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

1500 m exans Global expert in cables and cabling systems

41 considers that virtually all of the cable contracted for in 2004 was for a single Recovery Year Behind Us With a project, the 20,000-kilometer SEA-ME-WE-4. Solid Book of Business Ahead By The total for 2005 is even more impressive when compared with 2002 and 2003. The total of route-kilometers contracted for in 2005 is about three John Manock times the amount contracted for in 2002 and 2003, combined.

The Year 2005 may be remembered as the year in which the submarine cable Broad-based recovery ahead industry turned around. Following three long and dreadful years, 2005 proved The activity in 2005 is more significant considering that it does not appear to be a solid year in terms of submarine cable construction activities and supply to be an aberration. The recovery appears to be broadly based. The contracts awarded. Although activity levels are not up to the same levels as the 14 contracts awarded ranged from 34 route-kilometers to 15,000 route- boom years in the late 1990s – nor are they likely to get there any time soon kilometers and included consortium and privately financed systems, – investment and new construction appears to be entering a period of stable repeatered and unrepeatered systems, activity in every region of the world, growth. extensions to existing systems, and both large market and small market systems. The results of T Soja & Associates, Inc.’s (TSA) most recent comprehensive look at the state of the industry provide at least reasonable cause for cautious Several of the projects in 2005 are the first phase of broader projects that optimism. The industry is witnessing a growing number of contract awards and could continue for the next several years. On many routes, older cables actively developing new projects. Existing cables are being upgraded. And are nearing full capacity utilization and are too expensive to maintain or broadband Internet demand and deployments are skyrocketing. upgrade. New markets are opening and regulations are easing. All of these developments bode well for greater submarine cable activity in the coming To analyze the activity levels in the submarine cable industry, TSA has used a years. four-step rating system. The new rating system categorizes projects as follows: TSA expects that 2006 will be a solid year as well. TSA anticipates that Rating 1: Systems under contract in 2005 roughly 28,000 route-kilometers of cable contracts will be awarded, only Rating 2: Systems for which supply contracts are expected to be awarded in slightly less than in 2005. An annual awarding of approximately 30,000 2006 route-kilometers of submarine cable may continue for the next several Rating 3: Future projects that experienced positive movement in 2005 and may years thereafter. And although the annual total of 30,000 route-kilometers result in future supply contracts is far less than what was being awarded during the boom years, it signals a Rating 4: Potential long-term projects, including projects under discussion as recovery and, perhaps, a period of stability for the industry. well as those for which TSA anticipates a need within a five-year timeframe Projects totaling more than 52,073 route-kilometers of submarine cable were TSA’s tracking indicates that supply contracts awarded during 2005 amounted under contract in 2005, representing Rating 1. There were 30,484 route- to 30,484 route-kilometers. This is an increase of nearly 30% over the amount kilometers contracted for in 2005. The rest consisted of projects contracted of cable contracted for in 2004. The increase is more significant when one in 2004 but completed in 2005.

12 Rating 2, which represents the projects that TSA projects will be coming under Figure 2 looks at the number of route-kilometers by year based on RFS contract in 2006, consists of 30,620 route-kilometers. Another 36,144 route- date. TSA uses the RFS year rather than the year in which the supply kilometers makes up future projects that TSA believes experienced positive contract was awarded for its long-term projections. The figure shows a movement in 2005 – Rating 3. Although some or all of these systems may still fairly consistent level of activity of nearly 30,000 route-kilometers through not ever be built, this group represents strong possibilities for supply contract 2008, followed by a doubling to 60,000-70,000 in 2009 and 2010. The large awards in the next two-to-three years. increase in those years is due to the Rating 4 cable projects, many of which have significant hurdles yet to overcome for implementation. If only half The last and largest group makes up Rating 4, representing long-term potential of the Rating 4 systems are RFS in 2009 and 2010, however, the annual projects. Totaling 109,000 route-kilometers, many of these projects are route-kilometer total will still be consistent with the level of activity in the questionable regarding their ability to be funded. All are based on a recognized previous four years – about 20,000 rt-km to 30,000 rt-km per year. If these short- or long-term need, however, and are likely to continue to pop up in assumptions come to pass, it again raises the possibility that the submarine discussions of future systems in the coming years (see Figure 1). cable industry is heading into a period of stability that could extend through the end of the decade. Figure 1 Number of Route-Kilometers by Rating Figure 2 Number of Route-Kilometers by RFS

120,000 100,000 70,000 60,000 80,000 50,000 60,000 40,000 40,000 30,000 Route-km

20,000 Route-km 20,000 0 10,000 0 Rating 1 Rating 2 Rating 3 Rating 4 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

More indications of fundamentals-driven growth There are other indications of a healthy industry, however. In 2005, plans were announced to upgrade five major submarine cable systems: SEA-ME- WE-3, SAT-3/WASC, SAFE, ARCOS and FLAG Atlantic. Numerous carriers

13 upgraded their international Internet backbones. And Niche markets, such as is now carrying more than 220 Gbps of traffic, while Level 3 announced a submarine fiber cables used for scientific applications or for linking offshore huge purchase on the Apollo Submarine Cable System. oil and gas platforms (neither of which are included in the above totals), also showed significant activity. The Level 3 agreement is stunning in scope. Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 will purchase 300 Gigabits (30x10Gbps) of transatlantic In November came the kind of announcement that was unheard of during the capacity (equivalent to the capacity required to make approximately previous three years, when Southern Cross announced new capacity sales of 10,000,000 simultaneous Internet Protocol (IP) based calls) and has US$218 million for the period March to October 2005 and had paid off its debt. immediate access to the capacity. Level 3 also has the right to purchase 300 Gigabits of additional capacity, taking the contracted capacity up to a total of “Southern Cross is undoubtedly one of the most successful submarine 600 Gigabits (60 x 10Gbps). networks in the world” said CEO and President Fiona Beck in a press release marking the occasion. “The recent sales reflect strong broadband growth and The carrier also said that its global IP backbone network currently carries have enabled us to repay the bank debt which financed the project from when over 3.7 petabytes of Internet Protocol (IP) traffic every day (one petabyte construction began in 1998. Our bank debt peaked at US$950 million but by 28 is the equivalent of 2,000,000 CDs). Meanwhile, IP traffic carried across October 2005 this was repaid in full. Southern Cross is now in an even stronger Level 3’s transatlantic network has doubled in the last twelve months. Prior position to further improve its network in response to the broadband explosion to this transaction, Level 3 had 480 Gigabits of lit transatlantic capacity, and to provide returns for its owners.” with approximately 85 percent of this currently in service and being utilized. The Apollo purchase gives Level 3 scalable capacity on four diverse routes CEO and President Beck said, “Southern Cross has already sold in excess across the Atlantic, including the Level 3 developed Yellow submarine cable of 40% of its recently expanded capability and the demand outlook is so system. strong it raises a question about the need for another capacity expansion. Any upgrade would need to be completed before activated capacity reaches 80% “We continue to see growth in demand for IP transit and growth on our of available capacity and this could occur within the next 2 to 3 years.” Beck transatlantic routes,” said Brady Rafuse, president of Level 3 in Europe. added that, “The Southern Cross network can readily double its total capacity “The purchase increases the total available capacity on our transatlantic size at a very low marginal cost.” network to more than 700 Gigabits immediately and greater than 1000 Gigabits should we exercise our right. This investment facilitates the ongoing The good news has continued into the first two months of 2006. A C&MA scalability of our network, guaranteeing supply to accommodate growth in was signed in January for the FOG-II cable system in the Persian Gulf, but it the medium term,” he added. was system upgrades and capacity purchases that have been the big news so far. Contracts have been awarded for the upgrade of APCN-2, Maya and What a refreshing change from the quotes we have heard in the past three Mid Atlantic Crossing. Maya will be upgraded to support 10 Gbps technology, years that usually centered around the words “difficult conditions.” whereas to date it has only been operating as a 2.5 Gbps system, while the APCN-2 upgrade will add 120 Gbps to the system’s capacity.

Meanwhile, transatlantic systems made a huge splash with Hibernia Atlantic’s announcement of exceptional growth in the capacity carried on its cable, which

“Critical Infrastructure”(Department of ducts then connect to a Beach Manhole where a Homeland Security Initiative) transition is made from submarine cable to land cable. The land environment does not normally Further to the thought provoking article by require the land cable to be as robust as the marine Jack Runfola and Alfred Richardson in Sub Tel cable. Several international cables may only be Forum 24, discussing the security of submarine separated by the wall thickness of a PVC duct. telecommunication cable, it is clear that the topic is Between the beach manhole and the Cable Station, THERE IS NO rising in importance with many network operators several international cables can share the same and owners. Great importance is now being placed duct bank. Yet, it is immaterial whether a cable SAFETY IN on system design and self healing ring networks to break occurs at sea or on land - system traffic is reduce the impact of security breaches. interrupted.

Optimizing maintenance costs - NUMBERS… The global telecommunicationsManaging risks infrastructure is increasingly dependentThe prime on driver submarine of maintenance cable costs is the networks. New cablefrequency infrastructure of repairs, combined in with the the effi- (James Thurber) developing world is ciency seen of asthe maintenance one of the response. pre- Even requisites for promotingwith the growth newer model in national of fixed-cost and mainte- regional economies. Somenance agreements countries (unlimited depend repairs on under a fixed standing cost), which Global Marine submarine cables to provide virtually all of the have undertaken on certain systems, the an- international telecommunicationsnual cost is indexed traffic. against theThe expected term fre- THE SECURITY ISSUES “Critical Infrastructure”quency is well of fault justified. occurrence. This risk is de- Proposed Cable Fibre Optic Cable pendent upon two factors: Out of Service Coax A glance at any world or� regionalThe aggression map threat showing existing in the Telegraph Cable OF MULTIPLE CABLE the technicolour spaghetti region of existing of the cable submarine system (fishery � 82% of all faults occur in less than statistics show that the continental shelf rep- networks clearly displays thedensity Achilles and techniques, Heel in thedredging, “Fog In Channel – Continent Isolated” (Headline other seabed users, etc.), and, 200 meters water depth (1997-2000) resents a greater threat than ever. security of the whole infrastructure. The landing from “The Times” of London) LANDINGS. � The quality of the route planning and � 85% of faults arise through ‘external The chart shown above represents one points of the systems areinstallation clustered techniques together, used to miti- aggression’ of the key reasons for the increase in the shal- with some beaches being usedgate the to above land risks. multiple Historically,� The incidence submarine of external cable aggression land routeslow havewater threat. been Simply put, ‘all of the good submarine cables. A good example can be clearly well designedfaults has and increased engineered 69% between and consequentlylandings are already taken’. The landing in seen on the FebruaryIdentifying page of risk the – aggression 2006 Sub-Tel faults have proven1986 and to1996 be fairly resilientSingapore, to natural shown above, represents one of Jim Bishop It is interesting to note that, with the in- � Forum Calendar. occurrences,In this suchsame time, as landslides component failure and floods.the most challenging sites in the world rela- cumbent systems now carrying more re- as a cause of faults is down from 17% tive to the planning and installation of a se- and sponsibility than ever to provide secure ca- to 6% of all faults cure route. Global Marine have performed In the case of a multiple cable landing point, Utility providers are reporting an increase in the John Walker pacity, the external threat to these system Remarkably, during a period when the every successful system installation into these separation between thecables cables has never going been more seaward abundant. is Thetheftconstruction of cast industry’s iron manhole combined capability covers. Althoughlandings since this 1984, and there have been zero quickly established. Mostfollowing cables data arefurther buried illustrates below a disturb- presentsto plan anda real install hazard shallow towater the routes general has public,aggression it faults also in any buried section at this the seabed and are heavilying trend. armoured. However, exposescontinually the grown, cable the to above further aggression opportunists fault landing. with an in the other direction, where cables make landfall, interest in the copper content of the cable. It is still the opposite occurs. The cables funnel into a duct not widely known in42 these circles that many optical system often no larger than 20 square inches. These land cables contain little or no copper.

16 �� The most likely cause of outage on land sections “That was the past– this is the future”(David detailed assessment of the landing should also be of a cable route continues to be civil engineering Beckham) carried out to examine the potential risks to the activities, particularly where mechanised�� plant, which should also consider the effects of Landing points for submarine cable systems are excavators are being used. multiple cable outages in close proximity. selected on a number of grounds. Consideration has to be given not only to the marine approaches Deliberate external aggression has not been With new cable installations becoming reality again, but also to the land cable route. Increasingly equipped with an ITG fixed share Jet Plow widespread,The butInternational is a risk to Telecom plant which Group is (ITG) system designers and route planners have a real prohibitive and complex regulations regarding submarine cable burial system. The Thomas increasingly being taken seriously. To a trained opportunity to incorporate security considerations recently completed three shore endpermits and wayleaves are also significant and eye, or an observant local resident, the precise inC the is earlya 57m stages LOA ofconverted planning. Offshore Cables have Supply been submarine cable installations for Alcatel’stime consuming hurdles that need to be overcome, route of these land sections is easy to follow, and on the seabed since the 19th century. Analogue and can be influential in the selection of landing Vessel fitted with a custom designed modu- consequentlysubmarine must be networks considered activity to be on a the high Apollo and earlier optical cable systems are now being sites. lar submarine cable laying system. The Tho- potential Project. risk. Furthermore, The Apollo shifting Fiber sands Optic on aCable retired and recovered. As a result there are a large beach can expose a shore end cable overnight, numbermas C of is beaches particularly and empty suited duct for routesShore whichend System is a state-of-the-art opticallyThere can be a number of motives for returning to leaving it exposed and easily identified or havework, been repeaterless successfully telecom used to systems land cables and and sub- no amplified submarine cable networkthe same beaches, beach manholes and duct routes, suspended between rocks. longer used as cable landings. In addition many including, but not limited to: marine power cable installations. The land- comprising two trans-Atlantic cable routes of these routes will have abandoned cable stations ings at both Manasquan and Shirley were Instances haveof approximately been widely reported 13,000km where a singlethat cross associated with them. Many disused cable stations • Existing beaches may have proven completed to full burial specification, on cable failurebetween leads toEurope loss of and national the USA. or regional The initial successful in the past with suitable beach were operational the last time when security was internet capability. The effects of simultaneous highschedule on the andagenda within - during budget. the Cold War. system capacity of 160 gigabits per fiber and shallow water topography. multiple cable outages can only be speculated ITG Cable Jet Plow Deployment at Lannion, France upon. Thepair jingoistic is upgradeable Times headline using dense may well wavelength be • Historical costs of using existing beaches an understatementdivision ofmultiplexing the effect – if (DWDM).not the cause. are known.Subsea burial was achieved to specifica- At the European end a 6.7Km section • tionThe in landowner a particularly is aware challenging of the activities bottom As the earlierwas opticalinstalled systems and buried are in atthe depths process up of to 2m environmentrequired to land that a included submarine a mixturecable. of firm being retired,in Lannion, the switching France. options ITG in mobilized the event their • gravelKnown & large requirements cobble. to secure permit of an outage are reduced, placing yet further modular cable lay system along with their 5m andAt wayleave the US end consents two landings from the were relevant com- importance on newer high capacity systems. In authorities, agencies and other interested pleted. A 1.4Km section was laid and buried some locations,Jet Plow it isaboard conceivable the vessel that MVredundancy Union Beaver parties. for a particularat Flushing, cable system Holland is provided then loaded by a cablecable at the at Manasquan, New Jersey and then a 2.3Km sharing�� the same duct route and beach landing. • The infrastructure (duct route) is in place Alcatel factory�� in Calais and completed the sectionto convey was installed the cable at toShirley, an existing New York. cable ITG operation at Lannion. utilizedstation. their cable lay vessel MV Thomas C “LetITG’s the MV fear“Thomas of C”danger sets up beoff Manasquana spur to New prevent Jersey it.” • In the context of a large trans-oceanic cable (Benjamin Disraeli) network, the land and beach17 sections are a minor component. The first step that can be taken is to restrict access to any of the manholes. It is important that the level A further consideration, that may have been of physical security is of a standard that will make overlooked, must be the security of the route. A entry to the underground chambers extremely

An international forum for the expression of ideas1 and opinions pertaining to the submarine telecoms industry Fourth Quarter 2002 17 difficult, by the use of locks and / or security “Work. Finish. Publish.” (Michael Faraday) There is no benefit in owning, or operating, an bolts. This immediately secures the system against amalgamation of protected and vulnerable plant. those in search of scrap metal. This can also be For upcoming and future cable installations, a enhanced by the fitting of sensors that will detect further opportunity exists in the reuse of empty unauthorized or forced entry into manholes. beaches and the refurbishment of empty duct routes and cable stations. Not only does this have “Ring before you dig” organizations provide cost benefits, these routes have a proven history, civil engineering contractors with safe digging and will further serve the purpose of dissipating policies and run underground utility awareness major economic assets and enhancing the resilience programmes to help protect valuable underground of the global network. assets. While these initiatives will not eliminate the risk of excavators breaching cables, participation More than ever, the world is dependant on in such schemes will reduce the risk of damage to Jim Bishop has cables during general civil engineering works. submarine networks for communication which must be seen as a key part of the economic more than 15 years experience While there is limited scope for actually preventing infrastructure. Prior to the deregulation and of submarine shifting sands causing cable exposures on beaches, subsequent massive expansion of the networks, the cable design, Cold War dictated that these national assets needed installation and mechanisms need to be in place to carry out maintenance. speedy and timely reburial of the exposed cable. a dedicated, often bomb-proof, cable station and land route. Competing front-haul networks often He has been This minimises the time that a cable is visible, and M a n a g i n g thus the available time for organising planned run parallel and within feet of each other. Now Director of A- mischief. security is moving up the agenda, they should be 2-Sea Solutions treated together for security considerations. Ltd for nearly 10. From a background in cable joint engineering he has been involved In the event that a security threat is considered a real In many instances, suitable preventive measures in many land and marine cable related risk to the integrity of the plant, especially where technologies, and has first hand experience multiple cables share the same beach, the last resort have been in place since original installation. of product development in compliance with must be to consider rerouting one, or some, of the These measures require regular review to ensure International Standards and Directives. cables. Encasing new duct routes with concrete that the security remains effective. Any review also will increase security and survivability and careful needs to consider other plant in close proximity. John Walker has monitoring of the land route construction ensures There are a number of forums which have been been involved with that contractors comply with requisite standards established to discuss and take united actions on telecommunication cable installations for and specifications. topics of mutual interest across the industry. Such gatherings could be used to formulate and agree a more than 30 years. After a number of universal Security Standard for cable land routes, years working on which details the minimum physical security UK Outside Plant requirements for the front-haul sections of the Networks as a Regional systems. If universally adopted by all cable owners, Engineer, he moved operators, and installers, this would ensure that into the Submarine cable business in there is continuity of security across all systems. 1987. Based in Central America, John is now working as an independent consultant and contractor and has written and presented technical papers on outside plant maintenance.18 Unrepeatered Submarine Links Benefit From All-Raman Technology By Daryl Chaires

A worldwide increase of broadband penetration has created a renewed achieved by implementing distributed Raman amplification (DRA) at 1580 nm, which is outside the optimal operating range of Erbium- interest in fiber optic network builds and upgrades of existing links. to improve the noise performance of their systems. In an unrepeatered doped amplifiers. The DWDM equipment used tightly integrated These builds and upgrades include both terrestrial and submarine application, DRA is placed in-line with receive erbium doped fiber distributed Raman amplification (DRA) and lumped Raman networks that support a worldwide exchange of information across amplifiers to effectively reduce the amplified spontaneous emission amplification (LRA) to over come the loss (75.3 dB @ 1550 nm) public and private networks. New builds and upgrades are required (ASE) noise contribution of the amplifiers. This improves the system and simplify the overall dispersion compensation. It did not use to support efficient communications between detached regions and noise performance while also increasing the receive channel input any special modulation techniques, but did implement enhanced provide previously underserved areas with access to vast amounts power level, leading to an increase of transmission distance. The result forward error correction that yielded a measured gross coding gain of content located anywhere in the world. Prior consideration of is an incremental improvement of distance. However, it falls short of of 8.5 dB. The ability to tailor the pumps to optimize the distributed builds and upgrades in many of these areas could not be financially maximizing the transmission distance. While distance improvements gain of both the post amplifier and the pre-amplifier resulted in an justified. Today’s economic justification has been made easier by the are important for new systems, operators of unrepeatered submarine improvement of transmission over both an EDFA only system and an recent introduction of technologies that enable more bandwidth to be links also require increased capacities for existing links. The addition EDFA plus Raman as shown in figure 1. The demonstration not only transmitted even greater distances on all fiber types, giving service of Raman amplification to existing systems cannot overcome the confirms the feasibility of transmitting high-capacity signals over a providers better options for new builds and upgrades. limited 33 nm spectral window of erbium doped fiber amplifiers. distance of 450 Km without the use of in-line equipment or special modulation formats, it lays the foundation to achieve transmission distances beyond 500 Km. For transport, all-Raman technology provides unprecedented Maximum benefit for high-capacity DWDM transmission on reach for unrepeatered submarine DWDM systems. Commercially terrestrial and unrepeatered submarine routes is only achieved available systems, now allow unrepeatered transmission of 450 through the implementation of all-Raman technology. An The wide-spectrum enabled by an all-Raman system using tightly km with near term enhancements supporting 500 Km. Just as all-Raman system utilizes properties of distributed Raman integrated DRA and LRA, provides access beyond the C-band to importantly, the technology helps service providers to extend amplification as well as lumped Raman amplification to maximize include areas of the S-band and L-band. This additional spectrum the life of their current investment by significantly increasing both distance and capacity. Lumped Raman amplification (LRA) enables flexible wavelength allocations that can be used to increase the capacity of existing routes. All-Raman technology provides also referred to as discrete Raman amplification, can be used to the number of transmitted channels for various fiber types. Dispersion amplification over a much broader range of wavelengths compared enable access to previously unused spectral windows. This is shifted fiber, for example, is generally limited to less than 8 X 10 to the Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), used on many of achieved by tailoring pump sources to manipulate specific spectral Gb/s channels over the typical 250 Km to 300 Km unrepeatered link. the existing routes. Amplification over a wide spectrum provides windows thus perform signal amplification over a much wider However, by selecting wavelengths outside the C-band, it is possible flexibility for wavelength allocations resulting in increased spectrum than that supported by EDFAs. All-Raman technology to achieve 30 X 10 Gb/s over that same distance. Another practical capacity over a larger array of fiber types. In fact, an all-Raman has been implemented to manipulate wavelengths over a 100 nm benefit of this wide spectrum was recently demonstrated to provide DWDM system is uniquely capable of breathing new life into spectral window. a cost-effective option for increasing the capacity of unrepeatered old fiber routes. It is the best option for maximizing capacity on submarine cables equipped with remote optically pumped amplifiers DWDM challenged DSF and LS fibers. Without the performance (ROPA). enhancements of an all-Raman system, service providers would One of the benefits of all-Raman amplification for unrepeatered be forced to prematurely abandon low capacity systems in favor submarine networks was published at ECOC in September 2005. of more efficient new builds. It would simply be too costly to The paper, All-Raman Unrepeatered transmission over 440Km Systems using ROPAs which were installed a few years ago, operate these links while also installing new links to support higher of Standard PSCF, published the results of a lab test confirming the generally supported a maximum of 16 2.5 Gb/s channels over an capacity demands. feasibility of transmitting high-capacity signals (8 X 10 Gb/s) over a unrepeatered distance of 250 to 300 Km. Influenced by demand for distance of 440 Km without the use of any passive or active in-line more bandwidth and 10 Gb/s wavelengths, service providers are components. The demonstration spot lighted the characteristics of an seeking simple cost effective ways to upgrade these systems to N X The benefits of Raman amplification are well known and a number all-Raman system which positions it to maximize the distance and 10 Gb/s. The goal of the demonstration was to show that this type of of DWDM manufacturers are exploiting the performance benefits capacity of unrepeatered submarine links. The demonstration used upgrade is possible without the extra cost associated with retracting of Raman amplification to extend the transmission distance of their silica fiber that is typical for unrepeatered submarine systems. The the cable and removing the ROPA. The demonstration confirmed that unrepeatered submarine and terrestrial products. This is generally minimal loss window of this type of fiber is centered approximately the ROPA, when left in place, does not interfere with the transmission

19 This demonstration confirmed the benefit of an all-Raman system using the availability of a wide- spectrum amplifier to provide upgrade options to operators of unrepeatered submarine links. It proves that they can quickly and cost-effectively perform a no-risk upgrade. The demonstration showed an increase from 16 2.5 Gb/s channels to 33 x 10 Gb/s channels providing an 800% increase in capacity. The available margin indicates that the system can be grown to 60 X 10 Gb/s if required. System growth over the past few years may have been stagnant, but advances in technologies were not. Now that demand appears on the rise once again, service providers are well positioned to meet the challenges. All-Raman DWDM systems maximize capacity and reach for new unrepeatered installations and provide a cost- effective method of upgrading DWDM challenged fiber like DSF and LS as well as capacity limited systems using aged fiber or previously installed ROPAs. of information outside the C-band. In this demonstration, 33 10 Gb/s channels with 50 GHz spacing was transmitted over 300Km.

The demonstration system, shown in figure 2, consisted of a passive remote optically pumped amplifier, placed 217 Km from the transmit end. An additional 97 Km of fiber was added to the output side of the ROPA for a total transmission distance of 304 Km. The measured loss of the link, including all fibers, connectors and splices was 53.3 dB. 33 channels over a 25 nm spectrum using channels 1567.54 to 1592.10 were transmitted.

Performance measurements were made at strategic locations along the link. The transmission results are summarized and depicted in the graphs of Figure 3. The results show at least 5.1 dBQ of margin (worst channel) measured for FEC at a BER of 10-15. No measurable Figure 1: Amplification Scheme Comparison cross-channel penalty was observed.

This demonstration confirmed the benefit of an all-Raman system using the availability of a wide-spectrum amplifier to provide upgrade options to operators of unrepeatered submarine links. It proves that they can quickly and cost-effectively perform a no-risk upgrade. The demonstration showed an increase from 16 2.5 Gb/s channels to 33 x 10 Gb/s channels providing an 800% increase in capacity. The available margin indicates that the system can be grown to 60 X 10 Gb/s if required. System growth over the past few years may have been stagnant, but advances in technologies were not. Now that demand appears on the rise once again, service providers are well positioned to meet the challenges. All-Raman DWDM systems maximize capacity and reach for new unrepeatered installations and provide a cost-effective method of upgrading DWDM challenged fiber like DSF and LS as well as capacity limited systems using aged fiber or previously installed ROPAs. Figure 2 : Demonstration Measurements for ROPA Cable Upgrade

Daryl Chaires, Marketing Director at Xtera Communications, is responsible for product-strategy development, requirements, positioning, and related sales support activities. He has been part of the telecommunications community for 20 years. Mr. Chaires has worked in various field and system engineering roles, where he helped carriers to design and implement wireless, wireline and unrepeatered submarine systems. Daryl received his BSEE from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Figure 3 : Measurements for ROPA Cable Upgrade Demonstration

20 In-use submarine cables around UK Waters. The Drivers At the outset, it is helpful to identify the drivers which triggered the need for a generic risk assessment.

• Exponential demand for global network expansion The industry has been engaged in both the replacement of first generation fibre Submarine Cable optic cables and the expansion of its networks which have to keep pace with a near doubling in global demand for non- Decommissioning: voice communication every 12 months. • The pace of technological advance Assessing the Capacity in submarine cables has increased exponentially, and is now generally 10Gbit/second per wavelength, Environmental with a single fibre carrying up to 100 Early in 2004, Southampton based Emu Ltd. a wavelengths. This is an increase in Marine Environmental Survey and Consultancy capacity of approximately x2000 since Risks company were commissioned by a consortium the early systems were installed in the of cable companies (including British Telecom 1980s. & Cable & Wireless), to undertake a generic environmental risk assessment to be used during • Increasing competition for spatial use the decommissioning of redundant submarine of the seabed telecommunications cables. Eighteen months on, Trawlers have had historic claims to the the generic risk assessment has been successfully seabed, but recent expansion in the oil applied in a number of different scenarios, and has and gas industry, marine dredging and also now been posted on the United Kingdom Cable more significantly in the development of By Protection Committee (UKCPC) & International offshore renewable energy installations Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) websites as means deployment and decommissioning an example of ‘Industry best practice’. Copies of of submarine cables now takes place in Ray Drabble the report can be obtained by non-members from an increasingly congested environment. the respective secretary’s of the organisations. • Awareness about the marine This article affords an appropriate opportunity environment to briefly review this management tool and The public have a greater awareness its application to the management of cable about the marine environment today than decommissioning. earlier generations. As a responsible

21 sector, the submarine cable industry of the generic nature of the tool term or permanent effect. The reasons for this wishes to demonstrate that their activities (precautionary principle) are: are causing no harm to marine life. • Be easy to use. • The scale of disturbance resulting from cable • Legislation removal, in general terms, is very small; Following a landmark court ruling in favour The Approach • The impacts associated with the installation of of Greenpeace in 1999, the Habitats A fundamental principle is that a tool of this nature submarine cables are well documented; Regulations 1994 which implemented the can only identify potential sensitivity to a given • Environmental factors will have been taken requirements of the Habitats Directive impact. Emu Ltd. followed a similar approach into consideration during the initial rigorous (92/43/EEC) and the Wild Birds Directive to the model developed by Dave Carlin and consenting process to which all cable routes are (79/409/EEC) have been demonstrated Stuart Rogers of The Centre for Environment, subject prior to installation; to apply out to 200 nautical miles, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) to • The physical disturbance to the seabed associated limits of territorial UK waters. As a result, assess dredging impacts upon fisheries, where with the removal of cables is significantly less the first UK offshore candidate Special the theoretical generic matrix of impacts has to be than that caused by installation. Area of Conservation (SAC) has been compared against site specific data to determine accepted by Defra and there are a range actual vulnerability. Furthermore, the benign chemical composition of of seabed habitats and species which are submarine telecommunications cables, removes under consideration for designation with “To describe the actual vulnerability of the fisheries any risk of direct chemical contamination in the potentially far reaching implications for the issues to potential impacts on a site specific basis… decommissioning process. submarine cable industry and other marine requires balancing the theoretical sensitivity of a based operators. resource to an impact, and the local features of the Generic Risk Assessment for Potential Impacts site and the distribution of the biological resource, Associated with Submarine Cable Recovery The Requirement to derive an actual site-specific vulnerability.” Notes: The industry was looking for a management (Carlin & Rogers (2002)) 1. Prior consultation with appropriate regulatory authorities (EN / screening tool which could be used generically Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) for inshore/JNCC for offshore The scope of significant issues associated with or equivalent bodies) should be undertaken when planning recovery. to highlight potential environmental impacts when submarine cable decommissioning has been 2. Prior consultation with English Heritage (EH) /Welsh Historic initiating applications for consent to decommission narrowed to those which potentially have a long- Buildings (CADW)/ Historic Scotland / Environment & Heritage Service and potentially remove redundant submarine cables. When submarine cable routes are initially planned, significant data is collected that includes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Description Benthic Marine / Fish / Physical Archaeology Commercial Shellfish Navigation Leisure and Other a detailed interpretation of the seabed type, a (Category) ecology coastal shellfish Impacts on fishing production (anchoring recreational cables / conservation ecology seabed / moorings) activity pipelines / depth of burial assessment, and other specific data sites structures relating to each section of cable. Emu Ltd. was *1 2 *3 4 5 Exposed bed rock (A) Low Medium None None Low* None* * Low tasked with developing a risk matrix which could be *1 2 *3 4 5 Chalk (B) Low Medium None Low Low* None* * Low used in conjunction with this routing data that would *1 2 *3 4 5 Stiff Clay ( C) None None None Low Low* None* * Low trigger further investigations, to either confirm or *1 2 *3 4 5 Clay (D) None None None None Low* None* * Low *1 2 *3 4 5 discount potential impacts. Key features of the Gravel (E) Medium Medium Low None Low* None* * Low *1 2 *3 4 5 Risk Assessment are the requirements to: Coarse sand (F) None Low None None Low* None* * Low *1 2 *3 4 5 Silty sand (G) Low Medium None None Low* None* * Low *1 2 *3 4 5 • Correspond to standard route survey Sand Waves (H) None None None None Low* None* * Low *1 2 3 4 5 seabed descriptions; Intertidal mud flats (I) Low Medium None None Low* None* None* * Low *1 2 3 4 *5 • Consider the worst case scenario because Beach sand (J) None None None None Low* None* None* None None Low

22 NI (EHS) should be undertaken in relation to archaeological / historic The matrix is colour coded for ease of reference; issues when planning recovery. green boxes indicate a high potential for positive 3. Prior consultation with DEFRA (England and Wales) / Scottish impact resulting from cable removal (for example Environment Protection Agency SEPA / Department of the by reducing the risk of snagging by fishing vessels Environment and Department for Agriculture & Rural Development in in an area frequently trawled), and the Amber & Northern Ireland in relation to potential impacts on the commercial Red boxes indicate their may be some negative fishing industry. impact of cable removal that will require further 4. Prior consultation with the EA / SEPA / Department of the investigation. Qualifying sub-notes highlight Environment and Department for Agriculture & Rural Development appropriate consultation which should take place in Northern Ireland should be undertaken in relation to shellfish at the planning stage. The cable owners uses production areas. this generic risk assessment at an early stage in 5. Prior consultation with Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), the decommissioning process, so that any issues Hydrographer of the Navy and local harbour authorities should be are known about early in a project, and can be Ross Coral found growing on TAT9 during undertaken in relation to navigational issues. addressed in a professional and timely manner. recovery The Risk Matrix Case Studies Denmark 4 – Filey UK Denmak4 was an international cable which The generic risk matrix is shown above. It evaluates The following case studies demonstrate how connected the UK with Denmark. When this cable the potential sensitivity for ten seabed categories to the environmental risk matrix has been applied was installed, it was buried close into the shore particular categories of risk related to cable removal, to aid decision making on a couple of cable where suitable sediments existed, but further providing a tool for highlighting the significant decommissioning projects. issues for a given cable route. Accompanying text offshore burial was impossible so many sections provides a more detailed explanation for each box TAT9 – Poldu Cove UK of the cable were ultimately surface laid. During the initial investigation using the generic matrix, of the matrix. E.g. the text for box C6, Stiff Clay / TAT9 was an international cable connecting the a number of issues were highlighted, but most impacts to commercial fishing reds as follows: UK with the USA. During the initial investigation notably the requirement to liaise with the local using the generic matrix, a number of issues fishing community, as they fished close into the C 6 Commercial Fishing were highlighted, including the fact that the beach shore. was protected under SSSI (managed by English Recovery of cables from the seabed will have Nature) and was a popular tourist spot, and that During the investigation phase, it became clear a beneficial impact on the commercial fishing the area was commercially fished from Falmouth. that the removal of the inshore section of cable industry by eliminating a potential snagging hazard These issues helped lead the cable owners to the would cause not only considerable disruption to for fishing gear. Both scallop dredgers and beam conclusions that the cable was generally considered the local fishing community, but also could cause trawlers while not targeting working clay seabed a marine hazard, as it was also predominantly some negative impact on the local environment. may well pass over these areas and given the surface laid on bedrock, the risks of conducting Subsequently it was agreed with both the local shallow burial depth (0.4m) there is a potentially cable recovery operations were low, and it could community and the consenting bodies that the first significant risk of snagging for cables left in situ. potentially benefit the local fishing community if it 8km of cable where burial was good, would be left If the minimum burial depth is increased, e.g. to were recovered. It was also clear that the timing in situ, and that the remaining section of surface deeper than 0.8m, then there is a much reduced of any recovery operation must suit both the local laid cable would be recovered. likelihood of snagging and the positive benefits of community and conservation organizations, so In this instance, the real strength of the generic recovery are marginal. a subsequent recovery operation was conducted risk assessment was highlighted, where the after the summer season, in consultation with the decommissioning process really took into account The impact on the commercial fishing industry of local conservation and fishing communities, which the local conditions on the ground, ensuring the recovery of cables from stiff clay is assessed as was successfully completed on time & on budget. localized, permanent and positive. cable was recovered where the impact of the

23 recovery was negligible, but leaving the cable in- Ray Drabble has seagoing experience spanning 21 years situ where it was well buried in a stable seabed, – predominantly in the Royal Navy but latterly in survey and the environmental impacts of the recovery work under contract to the UK Maritime and Coastguard would be negative. Agency to assess the impact of shipping traffic on designate Marine Environmental High Risk Areas. He has Suggested Further Work worked as an environmental officer for the UK Ministry of Defence and overseen environmental audits at a number of Ministry of Defence establishments. In conjunction with • Beneficial Disposal of Obsolete Cables his MSc studies, he has undertaken research into the When redundant cables have been environmental effects of sunken warships and is providing recovered, every effort is made to recycle the ongoing support to the Ministry of Defence in this field. constituent components, but this generally Key experience includes: involves shipment abroad, and inevitably Submarine cables provide a protected nursery • Project Manager of a US Navy asset visibility project. some portion of the cable ends up in Landfill. for many species in an artificial reef in the • Extensive experience as a Royal Navy ship’s diving The submarine cable industry has been USA. officer. looking at innovative ways of recycling this • Seagoing MARPOL adviser. • Enhancement of the Industry’s GIS cable, and one idea that is currently being database investigated is as a construction material Since joining Emu Ltd. in 2003, his primary tasking has been Environmental impact assessment in in environmental consultancy and project management for for Artificial reefs. Projects in the USA have the marine environment necessarily Environmental Assessments which have related to industrial successfully shown that where cable has encompasses a plethora of diverse topics discharges, wharf development and aggregate extraction. been deposited on the seabed to create including infrastructure / navigational He has led a number of research projects including artificial reefs, the structures have provided considerations, commercial seabed an investigation the requirement for and feasibility of a protected nursery and habitat for various developments, fishing activities, undertaking remediation at marine aggregate dredging sites species of fish, crabs and lobsters and and a study into the environmental impacts of removing sub- conservation designations, ecological promoted a pelagic fish attraction desirable sea telecommunications cables. In addition to his extensive sensitivity / biotope maps, geophysical for recreation fishing. In view of the apparent seagoing travel, Ray has worked overseas in both Norway maps, sites of cultural / historic interest, success of this project, a grant application and the Pennsylvania, USA. He is married with four children defence activities etc. The associated has been made by British Telecom to the and enjoys diving, skiing and supporting his local church. broad spectrum of data needed to support Marine Stewardship Fund, administered by environmental impact assessment is held the Crown Estate to investigate the feasibility by disparate sources. While all this data for using redundant submarine cables as a can be supplied in response to a site construction material for artificial reefs in specific request, there may be merit in UK waters. maintaining certain data sets in a permanent geographical information system (GIS)

format, compatible with the current system used by the industry. In particular, if not currently held, electronic maps on trawling activity and seabed characteristics may be particularly helpful in attributing causes for system failure.

24 ENTELEC 2006 The Premier Association Providing a Forum for SCADA, Automation and Conference & Communication Technologies

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“stay ahead of the curve” in the energy, telecommunications and electrical industry. For more than 15 years the owners of submarine to address the unrepeatered or repeaterless cables have enjoyed the benefits to marine market. To respond to the needs of this maintenance operations of a single jointing market, a new consortium was formed to technology platform provided by the virtual provide a smaller, quicker to build joint; the monopoly of the UJ Consortium. Over these Universal Quick Joint (UQJ). The members years significant technological advances have of this new consortium were again Alcatel, been made in all other areas of submarine AT&T SSI and BT Marine. However, the basis cable technology but the Universal Joint (UJ) on which this new agreement operated was and Universal Coupler (UC) have changed different in a number of ways to the UJ/UC very little. Today the market is significantly agreement, which for a few years, while they different to the one in which UJ technology was operated in parallel, caused customers some conceived. The members of the UJ Consortium confusion. Shortly after the inception of the are different with different aspirations and the UQJ Consortium, AT&T sold SSI to Tyco, BT requirements of systems owners are much more sold BT Marine to Cable & Wireless and in Where focused on the costs of marine maintenance 1999 Cable & Wireless sold Cable & Wireless than they ever were in the past. So, does the Marine, including their UJ interests, to Global UJ still have a role to play in the industry and Crossing. does the can the UJ Consortium continue to meet the needs of its customers? UJ Consortium History Universal Joint Kit Structure The concept of a universal jointing technology go from here? was born out of the large cost to the owners of the first transatlantic fibre optic system TAT 8, who had to support three separate jointing technologies in order to maintain a system Cable A Cable B By containing three cable designs (Alcatel, AT&T & STC). When TAT 9 was being planned, the Key: Cable major system owners, AT&T, BT and France End Specific Kit Stewart Ash Common Component Kit Telecom agreed to jointly invest in developing Protection Kit a single technology to joint all three cable designs. This was the birth of UJ and in 1990 a ten year agreement was signed between Alcatel, AT&T SSI and BT Marine to develop and support the UJ (cable to cable) and the UC For the rest of this presentation I will be concentrating (cable to repeater) technologies. In 1992, the on piece part kits and therefore for those of you who concept of universal jointing was successfully are unfamiliar with the kit structure adopted by the launched into the Pacific region and KDDI UJ Consortium I have taken the liberty of using a became a member of the UJ/UC Consortium. slide presented by the UJ Consortium at PIOCMA in 2003 to illustrate this. By 1995, a large number of small diameter cables had been introduced to the market

26 When the UJ/UC Consortium agreement ran was, like many others at the time, a monopoly equipment, AT&T SSI provided the moulding out in 2000, it was replaced by a new 5 year international carrier in their own country machine and initially Alcatel provided the agreement, which combined the UJ, UC and and Alcatel relied heavily on their patronage. fusion splicer although when KDDI joined in UQJ under a single agreement. The signatories Contrast that with the situation that exists 1992 their fusion splicing machine replaced to this agreement were Alcatel, Global today, only KCS have any links to a system the less sophisticated Alcatel machine. BT Marine, KDDI-SCS, Pirelli and Tyco. This owner, Alcatel and Tyco are system suppliers Marine provided the X-ray Camera and all agreement carried the UJ Consortium through but all four of the members are marine service the boom and bust period. As part of the providers and this is bound to colour the UJ industry consolidation that followed, Global Consortium’s perception of the services it Crossing sold Global Marine to Bridgehouse needs to provide. Marine. KDDI-SCS ceased to trade and their membership of the UJ Consortium was The last time customer influence had any transferred to KCS, KDDI’s marine service real effect on the UJ Consortium, was at the provider. Finally, Pirelli sold their interests in time of the sale of Cable & Wireless Marine to submarine cables to Alcatel and so dropped Global Crossing. When this occurred, there out of the UJ Consortium. was some concern amongst system owners that Global Crossing could use its dominant Customer Influence position in UJ to hold the industry to ransom in what had become by then a vital technology. There is little doubt that the existence of UJ Significant pressure was brought to bear and technology is overwhelmingly for the benefit as a result the 2000 Consortium agreement was of system owners. It gives them the ability structured somewhat differently than it might to optimise marine spares and the choice of otherwise have been. Apart from heading marine maintenance service provider, with the off the perceived threat, the system owners ability to transfer from one to another without obtained improvement in service levels, which A 09002 kit box showing kit number and serial significant additional costs. For the system were unlooked for at that time. number. Note: this information is also provided in supplier and the marine service provider, it bar code form for reading by a scanner. The kit box is a necessary evil. Suppliers cannot sell their UJ Consortium Services latch is sealed using a unique serial numbered seal cable unless it is UJ qualified and marine (yellow) service providers have little chance of winning The UJ Consortium offers the following The kit weight (14kgs) is also shown for shipping, contracts if they are not equipped to support products and services. Cable qualification storage and health and safety purposes. UJ technology. to UJ/UC and or UQJ technologies; training of jointers and jointing instructors in UJ/UC the other tools and equipment. The supply The original UJ/UC agreement was, at its and UQJ technologies; supply of piece parts of piece parts and training followed the same core, an engineering collaboration designed and jointing equipment for UJ/UC and UQJ path, AT&T provided UC kits and training; BT to meet the needs of the leading submarine technologies. This portfolio was established Marine provided UJ kits and training. cable system owners. However, it needed to for the original agreement and has remained be a commercially viable enterprise and was unchanged ever since. Under the UJ/UC Under the UJ/UC Consortium agreement, the set up as such largely due to the work of BT Consortium Agreement, AT&T SSI developed UJ became BT Marine’s preserve and the UC Marine. The members of the consortium were the UC and was responsible for qualifying solely AT&T’s. In the beginning, the volumes predominantly subsidiaries of these system new cable to housing interfaces. BT Marine of business were small, but grew quickly. As owners. Alcatel was a notable exception but developed the UJ and qualified all cable to the participants had longer term relationships it should be remembered that, France Telecom cable combinations. In terms of jointing of co-operation there was little or no concern

27 over the single sourcing approach that was manufacturing terms initial stocks were high being established. However, the industry, volume to guard against the long lead times, fairly quickly, came to the conclusion that spare and replenishment stocks were low volume. repeaters and branching units (BU) should be provided with cable tails connected using the When the UQJ Consortium agreement was supplier’s proprietary jointing technology and negotiated the other members recognised the market for UC qualification, piece parts and that BT Marine had control of a growing and training all but collapsed. As new cable designs potentially lucrative market and even thought came to market, BT Marine qualified the cable Alcatel and AT&T SSI did not regard UJ as provided the training, the piece parts and with significant business they ensured that the the exception of the moulding machine and agreement contained cross licensing, which the fusion splicer, all the jointing tools and allowed all members to provide all products equipment. Very quickly BT Marine became and services. This was not the way the UJ/ perceived as leaders and the shop window of UC agreement was operating, hence customer the Consortium. They were slowly gaining a confusion about where they could buy the predominant and controlling influence of the different products and services. technology, especially after UJ qualification One of STS’s three Co-ordinate Measuring activity was transferred from BT’s Martlesham In 1996, Cable & Wireless purchased a healthy Machines (CMM), multi-loaded with a single batch laboratories to BT Marine. The industry was and growing UJ business as part of BT Marine. 150 UJ Flange Clamps. However, it is possible comfortable with this as BT Marine were They closed down the Southampton facilities to load these machines with any combination of owned and influenced by one of the major and and relocated the UJ business to Chelmsford, in different components, for simultaneous inspection. respected international operators and were the process they took the strategic decision to seen to be a centre of independent engineering outsource manufacture and as a result Sea Talk With all Consortium members being able to excellence with no affiliation to any cable Systems (STS) was established. By the time offer similar lead times the system owners manufacturer. negotiations for the 2000 agreement started were, at last, able to see some real market and Global Marine came under pressure to competition. BT Marine’s core business was not manufacture open up access to UJ Technology, they were and supply of piece parts and equipment, in a position to offer the other Consortium Technological Developments therefore limited resources were available members a licence to manufacture UJ piece for production. Although quality standards parts but at the same time reduce lead times, in By its very nature UJ technology has to be the were high, lead times were lengthy. Up to 28 collaboration with STS, for their own products same for all cable designs, so any developments weeks for tools and equipment and at best 14 from 14 to 5 weeks, thus significantly increasing need to be backwards compatible to all weeks for piece parts. Once again the industry the barriers to entry of providing a competing previously qualified cables. This is a major was comfortable with this. There were a service. In the short term, only Tyco chose to limiting factor and therefore the basic mechanical limited number of cable ships to supply with set up a competing manufacturing capability, structure of the joint and the equipment used equipment and if piece parts were on long lead Alcatel, KDDI-SCS and Pirelli continued to to construct it is very much the same as it was times all that was necessary was for the owner purchase their piece parts from Global Marine. 15 years ago. Notable exceptions to this are to set up a large buffer stock to protect against However, this significant reduction in lead time the 9002 Common Component Kit, introduced shortages. In the market model that existed allowed system owners to re-evaluate the size by Cable & Wireless Marine in 1998 to address at the time, piece parts were supplied in two of initial and ongoing stock holdings. In 2002, the fibre movement in loose tube cable designs; forms, “initial stock” purchased at the time the Global Marine negotiated a new agreement the addition of electronic processing to the system was commissioned and “replenishment with STS and licensed them to sell piece parts SAMS moulding machine, an improved X-ray stock” to replace kits used in system repairs. In directly to the other Consortium members. Camera and most recently the UJS 100 fusion

28 splicing system developed by KDDI to deal are set in these contracts can only, realistically, that anything done on a ship is somehow with all the latest fibre designs. Comparing be very coarse approximations. These KPIs are different to doing the same thing ashore, a this to the advances made in repeater, BU and euphemistically called “incentives”, but in my “marine adventure” if you will. Until recently cable design over the same period, the record view they only motivate the service provider little pressure has been applied to this basic of UJ technology is not impressive. Why is to do one thing, avoid paying the penalty, and requirement, and now that there is focus on it, this? One possible answer is that in the initial not necessarily by doing what was intended the inevitable inertia has to be overcome. The years of the product the end customer was not i.e. produce a high quality product in the UJ Consortium has not taken the lead, they overly concerned about development of the optimum time. provide very limited advice on the whole area product and by the time they began to focus of production control procedures, and it is left on the need for improvements in efficiency largely to the individual ship’s operator to and productivity their direct influence over establish what it thinks is appropriate. the monopoly they had created was waning. When it comes to production ergonomics, Customer Requirements Today once again the UJ Consortium do not take a leading role. They have always seen their UJ technology has been firmly established job as developing technically sound, easily right across the submarine cable industry, thus repeatable manufacturing processes using as giving the flexibility of choice the systems few different tools as possible. Each process owners require. Since 2000, lead times on piece is, of course, designed to be as efficient as part supply have come down significantly possible but the driver is “right first time every allowing owners to cut back on stock holding time construction” there has been little or no and competitive pricing has reduced their emphasis placed on improving the speed of costs. So where is the focus now? construction once a process is qualified. The construction of a UJ is, of course, a series of I believe the answer to this question is, owners disparate processes and the UJ Consortium has are focussed on the cost and quality of the The inside of a UJ 09002 Common Component Kit never addressed the issue of efficiently linking production of the joint onboard the ship. There showing the individual packaging and labelling of these processes to produce a time optimised appear to be two distinct approaches to this. the components total procedure. Finally, the UJ Consortium Firstly there is the collaborative engineering members have never cross licensed tools and evaluation of the IPRS forum, where statistical Discussion equipment. The core equipment remains data is independently analysed and feedback is single sourced and so do many of the tools. The provided to the UJ Consortium and individual In my opinion, a system owner has every right Consortium has taken the view in the past that, operators on areas of concern. Secondly, there to expect that every part of his submarine any tool developed to improve the efficiency/ is the more aggressive commercial approach system is made to the same high standards. speed of a jointing process is a matter for the adopted by maintenance agreements where Therefore the production of cable joints individual member. The improved tooling key performance indicators (KPI) or service onboard a cable ship should be carried out can be sold to other members, if the designer level agreements (SLA) are built into the using quality procedures equivalent to those so chooses, but it will not be defined as a UJ contract requiring that the service providers that would be expected in a factory. This product. With all members of the Consortium achieve the construction of joints within includes the production records, traceability of now being major ships operators, it can be certain time scales or incur a financial penalty. materials, qualification/calibration of the tools seen that any such development in this area is Given that there are over 600 combinations and equipment and the qualification status likely to be regarded as matter of competitive of UJ joints and couplers, each with a unique of the operators. Unfortunately the culture advantage and so generally the industry as a optimum time for construction, any times that of our industry for many years has accepted whole does not benefit.

29 qualified for the cable designs currently in Taking both these points together, I believe it is production. This would allow the Consortium reasonable to say that, although UJ is a common to collaborate on design improvements technology it has many and varied methods across the board with an additional focus on of production and record keeping, without a ergonomic efficiency. The existing technology central controlling authority. Therefore, by any could continue to support already qualified objective standard it can only be considered as cables and on a case by case basis system a partial product. owners could, singly or collaboratively fund qualification of an older design to UJ2 if it was Conclusion economically beneficial to do so. The UJ Consortium contains the leading All qualification programmes cost money and experts in jointing technology in the industry. it is questionable as to whether the current They come from the two leading system supply Consortium members, on their own, have companies and four of the major marine service the means to fund UJ2. It is therefore worth providers. They have the expertise necessary considering whether it would be possible to Bio of Stewart Ash to address the issues outlined above and meet extend the scope of collaboration further. UJ the needs of their customers. They only need technology, in the main, benefits the system the will to co-operate and address them. owners. Owners will also benefit most from Stewart has worked in the Submarine cable an improved joint through the reduction in The UJ concept started out as an engineering their maintenance costs and so there is a case industry for 35 years. After graduating collaboration for the benefit of the industry. to suggest that they could contribute to the from Kings College London, he joined Now, with the down turn in the market, funding of a new development. By doing STC Submarine Systems as a development membership of the UJ Consortium is a strategic this, they could then secure influence over and engineer, designing terminal equipment. By decision not a commercial opportunity. I share ownership in the IP of what to them is 1980, he was their senior field installation believe that if it is to survive it needs to return a vital technology, and for which the cost of manager responsible for all major loading to that original model of pooling knowledge substitution would be significant. and laying operations. With the advent of and expertise to address the problems its optical technology Stewart headed up the customers want solved. In summary, I believe there is a place for the Installation division responsible for all UJ Consortium. However, its membership turn key installation. In 1993, he joined C Clearly there is not much money available for should be expanded to include one or more & W Marine focussing on the development development but much of what is required, system owners with a willingness to invest in of cost effective installation solutions for in the short term, does not require large a second generation of the technology. I also the repeaterless systems market. After investment. The key improvements are about believe that, the current membership needs to roles in business development and account the Consortium taking full control of the joint behave less like a monopoly supplier, listen management, in 1999, he was appointed production process and establishing common and be more responsive to its customer’s General Manager of Global Marine’s standards for the industry. wants. They need to collaborate in all areas of Cable Services division, running their the technology to meet the customer’s current engineering and training facility at Boreham As stated before, the universal concept inhibits and future needs and to supply a total product and becoming their senior representative new developments because of the need for package at reasonable price. Without this UJ an chairman of the Universal Jointing backward compatibility. Perhaps the time is will slowly waste away and the benefits of Consortium. Stewart left Global Marine in right to draw a line in the sand and introduce a the common jointing platform will be lost to 2004 and is currently working with WFN second generation Universal Joint (UJ2), only everyone. Strategies as a Project Manager.

30 Global Marine Technology Update by Andy Bax

Global Marine is a participant and sponsor at the Submarine Neal, Strategic Account Directors and Paul Deslandes, Key cost maintenance enables Communications 2006 conference taking place at Lisbon, Accounts Manager. carriers to dramatically reduce Portugal. Andy Bax, Head of Submarine Network Systems operational costs which is for Global Marine, is delivering a speech at 9:10 on Thursday Andy Bax leads the team responsible for providing turnkey vital to sustaining competitive 30th March, and participating in the panel discussion later regional submarine networks on a global scale. He has spent capacity offering. that morning. the past 10 years in the submarine telecommunications industry as both an engineering and operations leader in the The 2-day European conference and networking event organisations where he has worked. Andy has a proven track Main features dedicated to telecom connectivity delivered by submarine record in deploying submarine and terrestrial technology Global Marine cable, is taking place in Portugal’s capital city. Andy, now in order to get the most out of an expensive network Training School • Flexible modular based in Florida, was thrilled to be invited to speak on infrastructure. architecture Day 2. His speech is entitled “ Key Considerations When • Rapid, In service upgrades at minimum growth Deploying New Technologies and Applications in Submarine cost Communications” and he will be examining the key factors Global Marine Systems Limited that newer optical fibre technologies need to ensure longer • Simplified management through existing reaches, wider bandwidths and higher speeds. Andy will Network Management Systems also be evaluating the cost considerations involved in the Proven technology eliminates significant complexity and cost • 2.5 to 40G transmission speeds deployment of new technology, including the initial costs of from deployment and maintenance of subsea network, and deployment, maintenance and operational costs and upgrade allows subsea networks to be • Can provide up to 64 DWDM capability and the costs involved. He will also assess the managed as a terrestrial network. wavelengths per fibre pair ability of new technologies and applications to improve the resilience of networks. • Continuous end-to-end performance A state of the art optical monitoring analogous to terrestrial Andy said “Considering the capabilities of today’s terrestrial transport solution specifically network networks - delivering vast amounts of capacity over greater for regional submarine networks has been developed. • Reduced footprint/ power consumption distances with a high degree of performance and reliability can be situated in city POP submarine networks, by comparison, lag far behind. In an ideal world the cost effective benefits and functionality of the terrestrial network should be seamlessly integrated into This system delivers rapid a submarine network much simpler than what is available deployment of initial service Optical Line Interface today.” Global Marine’s at lowest capital cost. • Complete OLI system fits in a 2200mm x There will also be an opportunity for Andy to reference Global Head Office Final capacity of up-to 64 600mm x 300mm ETSI cabinet Marine’s recent acquisition of Red Sky Systems. Global wavelengths x 10Gb/s is Marine announced that it had purchased the assets and anticipated allowing low • Transparent interface to terrestrial SDH/ Intellectual Property of Red Sky Systems during PTC2006 cost, low capacity, in service, SONET network in January. Red Sky technology enables a simple integration upgrades throughout the of terrestrial and submarine networks and, through this system lifetime as traffic technology, Global Marine will be able to offer network grows. Trademark Repeater operators a more cost-effectiveand uncomplicated means of running or upgrading their networks relative to traditional • Size: Smallest size 86mm diameter x 35mm length submarine solutions. When combined with industry standard A specifically designed solution subsea components the unique Red Sky Optical Line for the Regional Operator, • Depth rating: 8000 m Interface (OLI) allows network managers to operate subsea fundamentally re-defines networks using industry standard applications common to the way telecommunications • Power requirement: 4000 V (max)/-0.62 terrestrial networks. systems are deployed. And the A- fully surge protected

Global Marine benefits? Ease of operation, • Weight: Approx 10Kg (non incl. of marine Also making the short trip from the UK to Portugal will Training School smallest footprint and low housing) be Chris Brooks, Sales Director, Jonathan Annals and John 31 Global Marine at Submarine Communications 2006

• Net optical gain: 6dB submarine segments to bridge Simplified operation and seamless integration into the the gap between unrepeatered DWDM network gives the operator ease of operation with • Total optical output power: 14.3dBm and repeatered markets. In low cost maintenance. With an ultimate capacity of up to 64 • Architecture: 4x4 Pump redundancy both configurations, Cardinal wavelengths x 10Gb/s per fibre pair with no requirement to allowing highest sub-sea reliability provides up to 64 x 10G/bit upgrade the OLI during capacity upgrades, the total cost of wavelengths per fibre pair. ownership is dramatically reduced for the operator. • Housing: Marine proven housing that can interface with any Universal Joint qualified cable Cardinal Repeater With its innovative design and functionality the Cardinal repeater is a technology leader Global Marine Cardinal within the submarine industry. Repeater Global Marine’s Cardinal repeater is the smallest of its Optical Line Interface kind in the world, weighing The OLI is modular in approx 10kg. The reduced Interoperability architecture and has the size provides for simplified and test taking place smallest footprint in the Cardinal Repeater cost efficient installation and submarine terminal market. maintenance activities in water Combined with the low power depths of up to 8,000m. consumption this means the OLI can be installed in any POP/Telehouse without the Incorporating an Optical need for a separate Cable Amplifier Module, Cardinal station or alternatively a small, brings together standard fully equipped container along submarine amplifier with the DWDM equipment. components within an Manufacture innovative design that of OAM Cardinal Repeater improves upon functionality A fully integrated COTDR whilst reducing the size provides the OLI with encased in of traditional submarine polyurethane continuous unobtrusive amplifiers. monitoring of the submarine cable. Andy Bax Exclusively designed for Regional Networks, Cardinal The design enables use provides high capacity over in both repeatered and two fibre pairs in its standard unrepeatered marine systems configuration, whilst also with the ability to interface being capable of providing a with all the major DWDM and single fibre pair/single repeater submarine cable vendors. Test bed facility solution for 350km to 550 km OLI

identification over the Net is a recognised problem. What is not so well known to the business world at large is what the service �� providers, those who own the right to use submarine cables and other fibre-optic networks, are doing about it in order to protect �� their clients. The world moves on and it will be only �� a matter of time before we see such service providers dragged into court for a failure of due diligence towards their clients. �� The golden rule of trading is “know who you are dealing with”. A wise Trader does not overlook frequent credit checks on his trad- �� ing partner. A wise Trader knows his coun- terpart and his financial standing and is careful to play (trade) in a known backyard. That is the trade is linked to a known jurisdiction As we discovered in the film “Alien”, in dodgy deal done over the Net you may feel where the obligations under the contract can space no one can hear you scream. It is a like putting your trading partner into be easily enforced should one party fail to thought that must pass through the minds Cyberspace – and leaving him there – but meet its obligations and no settlement is of any business caught in a trade over the you will have to find a way around the reached. English law is readily accepted by Internet (“Net”) that goes wrong. Much the problem. all manner of Traders. same happens, you can scream and call for The problem is that in Cyberspace A known partner and careful attention help all you want, there is little help in “Identities” are capable of being hidden or to detail is required. Care to these details Cyberspace and little chance of enforcing disguised. What you see may not be what you builds confidence in the International arena. any help. You cannot (yet) put a body into get. This can be useful to some people when Your bank and Underwriter expect this of Cyberspace. So if you get caught in some it comes to payment but the lack of secure you. Indeed lawyers may now argue that a

30 34 lack of “due diligence” could stop recovery problems that occur in the real world with- from your Underwriters, the bank and even out claiming that the contract is at an end. After spending 10 the other side. It is said that fraud is waiting to explode years in the British The way you do business in the real, or on the Net. There is some protection in law Merchant Navy, physical, world also speaks for you when peo- for transactions covering the use of stolen Dick Faint joined Lloyd’s as a marine ple are looking for a trading partner. credit card details. I am suggesting that we claims specialist. However with E-commerce there is a take the current fraud problem and look at it He then spent 4 years as trouble-shooter problem. On the Net, these physical clues are from the point of view of International Trade. for a European shipping fleet. After 15 not so freely available. With the International Sale of Goods years with Andre & Cie, Dick started Small Traders with not so good reputa- (and services) we are looking at an altogether Charter Wise Ltd. Awarded his LLM at tions can build an electronic presence (a different scene. One where the fraudsters are Southampton University in shipping law, “website”) just as easily as a bigger and longer just sharpening their knives. he is a Member of The Chartered Insti- established Trader. It can be run from any- Identification and the control of the tute of Arbitrators and The Institute of where — even a beach hut in the Caribbean. means of identification will have to be closely Export, and is presently vice-chairman Messages can be drawn down, and contracts examined. of the GAFTA E-commerce committee. agreed, while travelling to check “offshore” At present there is an apparent limited bank accounts. use of so-called digital certificates. A digital what it claims to be and that that proof can An offer, or acceptance, can be given on certificate must be a way of proving, over the be verified (perhaps by something like Dunn the move and this lack of a physical place Net, that whatever is being certified is veri- & Bradstreet). where acceptance is made makes it difficult fied and verifiable. The future (and trading Digital certificates are encrypted using to apply the usual rules of construction. over the Net must be the future) will require a public key system. If I understand this cor- Trading already takes place over the Net. that any system will have to use high-secu- rectly, when a certificate is pre-sented, the Between two partners who know each other, rity virtual ID papers. recipient’s web browser automatically de- and want it to work, ways will be found to That future, and any potential trading crypts it using the key sent along with it, but overcome any problem “by agreement”. This platform that stands up to be counted could cannot encrypt it again. will be in just the same way as present busi- be part of that future, must provide that any The Owners, or users, of a digital certifi- ness is done — partners who want to do good visitor to a website is able to obtain a digital cate have the only private key and, if it all business overcome the occasional minor certificate (a virtual ID) as proof that site is works according to plan, only they can

31 35 encrypt their certificate. This would seem to vate key is for real? What will be the “come electronic payment by direct debit from the be along the lines of an interbank “tested key” back” if it goes wrong? Buyers bank account. system used for Letters of Credit There does seem to be a possible stand- A PIN number must authorize every di- If there is a proper control of the key it ard system to link the digital certificate to rect debit and there is no need to sign up for should prevent fraudsters being able to the person or company providing that pri- another credit account. download a digital certificate and copy it. It vate key. This is the Public Key Infrastructure The Grain & Feed Trade Association is not “encryption” as a process that is the (PM). What is not clear is how far this has (GAFTA), one of the world’s largest trading problem. got. associations, have created an “E-Commerce” The European Union has issued a direc- In the USA there is a company called committee and it could be possible that this tive calling for the legal recognition of elec- “VeriSign”. In the UK BT have set up BT Ignite committee will look at GAFTA developing tronic signatures. In English law this was as the UK partner of “VeriSign”. There are something along these lines for members. brought about by the introduction of “The probably many others. Presently it would seem that only a few Electronic Communications Act (ECA). The Deutche Bank has launched something “High Tec” companies can issue digital cer- ECA requires the Secretary of State to keep a called “Paybox” which links two important tificates. Few people will trust someone they Register of service providers who will/should elements of any contract, security and pay- have never heard of. Perhaps these compa- be providers of cryptography services. No ment. If I understand it correctly (and like nies will find their way on to the Register to electronic contract will be valid without such many others the writer is feeling his way into be kept by the Secretary of State. verification. American law has also moved to this brave new world) Paybox allows Buyers allow “electronic contracts”. to pay signed-up Paybox members (presum- Under English law, once that register is ably Sellers) simply by giving out a mobile up and running it should provide some peace phone number. Sellers ring a freephone of mind. number; enter the Buyer’s mobile number But there is still a gap. It seems rather and the amount to be paid. The Paybox com- odd to the writer, and difficult to confirm, puter then calls the Buyer at that mobile but while the ECA is now law there does not number, and (probably by way of an alien yet seem to be a register as required by Part1, voice) requests entry of a PIN to authorize Sect 1, of the ECA. Absent this register, how payment. When this pin number is entered will we know that the provider of this pri- into the system it acts as a trigger to allow

32 36 China Telecom to transmit traffic directly between the US and China. This has enabled China Telecom toThe boost GAFTA its E-commerce business committeewhile will reducing the carrier’sneed to examine international security both operating from the points costs. of view of individual members and for the As- Shallow Water China Netcomsociation is alsoitself. becoming It may be thatmore GAFTA and will be more international.well placed to provide some of the required We have servicesnot attempted to the Trade to for evaluate a fee. the Turnkey Solutions For differential growthThe in fact demand that GAFTA on theis well three known and routes that weunderstood examined. to Inrepresent general the terms best interestswe of would expectthe a continuationTrade at large would of veryalleviate high one of the Fiber Optic Cable Systems growth in trafficproblems. that If the is identity relatively of the service RTD provider were a Trade Association that itself would pro- tolerant. Between Asia and Europe the vide some security. The Trade would know and deployment of systems that are less tolerant trust a service that its own Association would to RTD is also likely to increase rapidly and provide. this should allow the low RTD route to This does not mean that GAFTA will take continue to commandthis route. The a premium, GAFTA E-commerce assuming committee that the in-servicewas formed performance to examine proves the problems to be and to exemplary. gain a better understanding of the problems In order toinherent maintain in E-commerce. a premium Onlyprice some the of the “high quality”problems route needs of trading to beover high the Net quality (E-commerce) From Shallow Water Installation as perceived byhave the beenusers. mentioned here. In the fifteenthIt will and be somesixteenth time before centuries recommenda- to Terminal Station Design & Fabrication our forefatherstions founded can be putthe forward“silk routes” from that and committee “spice routes” and,between to avoid East screaming and West. in Cyberspace, In the Trad- twenty-first century,ers should carriers tread very have carefully to find indeed. the Until the rules are known, and better un- most profitable “routes” between Europe and derstood, the best advice to any Trader is to Asia. treat the Net as an Alien world. There is a choice of course. Like the explorers of old we can go West or East. We 33 37 have to decide what is the absolute right fit for our customers.

Communications Infrastructure Protection With the new threat to communications Underwater infrastructure, deeper retro-burial and re-survey of Cable burial has proved to be one of the shallow water routes and shore approaches in pre- most effective forms of system security and cable assigned usage lanes becomes even more critical Infrastructure protection. In the past, the standard was 1-meter to system security. Burial lanes serve as a form of burial of cable systems out to water depths of 1200 protection to delicate eco-systems; however, burial Protection, meters. As fishing and trawling activities extended lanes or corridors pinpoint fiber optic systems for into deeper waters for a wider variety of fish, as part of would-be terrorists, and, therefore, deeper burial is a comprehensive cable protection involving education, required to prevent disasters. If the subsea bottom is Risk monitoring, and enforcement, many companies not within the soil stiffness range below 150 kPa, or recommended that cables be buried out to a water where water currents erode burial material, the use Mitigation, depth of 1,800 meters when practicable for cable of flexible conduit such as uriduct, and even subsea protection considerations. Other members of the cable matting, should be installed to protect the cables. owners associations adopted this recommendation, However, burial and protection techniques require and Pro-active which was considered the best protection against approval from state regulatory agencies, and the service interruption from fishing activities and anchor shoreline construction must be reviewed and approved drags. by the Corp of Army Engineers as well as by coastal Prosecution: resource management organizations (CRMCs). In As the fishing community pressed to new some cases, the facility provider has implemented PART III depths for tautog, monk fish, etc., burial protection directional drilling to provide deep burial beneath evolved to 1.2 - 1.5 meter burial out to water depths beaches, to avoid surf zones, and to prevent disturbing of 2500 meters. It is expected that the increased ecologically frail environments. The deep directional burial depth will provide a 60% reduction in man- drilling techniques provide excellent protection from By made aggressions. It is commonplace in Asian port sabotage. Both the ICPC and the CCITT recommend Douglas Burnett cities, such as Hong Kong, to bury cables between consideration of these protective actions employed by and 5 and 10 meters below the harbor floor to protect Bob Bannon the cable owners and installers where feasible. against fishing net anchors being dropped directly on the cables. However, if a cable is faulted and service interrupted, the ability to locate and retrieve a deeply Unmanned Marine Vehicles (UMV) for Protection buried cable for repair is greatly impaired due to and Maritime Perimeter Defense limited access to high-power water jetting systems and deep de-trenching systems; therefore, replacement of Unmanned Marine Vehicles (UMVs) a damaged section is often less time-consuming and encompass surface, subsea, and bottom crawling cheaper than de-trenching and extraction for repair. unmanned vehicles used for surveillance, maintenance, and protective warfare against terrorist threats. The opinions expressed herein are the personal views of the authors and do Burial depth options depend not only on economics but to an even larger not represent the views of the Office of Homeland Security, the Department of degree on available technology, the density of the seabed subsoil, the bot- Advanced sensor systems, visual observation with Defense, or the International Cable Protection Committee Ltd. (ICPC). tom topography, and the precense of rock or cora,l which limit burial. CCDs, and IR and thermal scanning are becoming

39 the backbone of identifying possible terrorist threats communication links to the surface vessel. AUVs The burial of cable systems during initial and acts of aggression to cables and other subsea have become viable with the incorporation of installation is achieved using cable plows. There infrastructure. Underwater approach corridors are advanced fuel cells and battery developments, which are a variety of designs that are based on earlier becoming extremely congested in major metropolitan provide a 40- to 50-hour mission operation window, technologies from AT&T Bell Labs and Cable and areas such as New York, with the at-sea approaches depending on payload configuration and vehicle speed. Wireless. But once a system is installed, Post Lay narrowing to less than 1400 meter separation. In Inspection and Burial (PLIB) and maintenance retro- addition, in gulf areas and along fishing beds, trawlers This new generation of AUVs has performed burial activity is accomplished by the Remotely are fishing deeper and closer to the cables. Therefore, programmed tasks such as a 320 km under-ice lay Operated Vehicles (ROVs). These ROV systems surveillance of cable routes by a variety of UMVs is of fiber optic cable and highly precise side scan are required to provide cost-effective performance rapidly approaching critical need. survey of the ocean seabed for commercial fiber under reasonably harsh environmental conditions. optic telecommunication systems. AUVs, such as the In addition to burial operations out to water depths Fiber optic systems have been installed HUGIN 3000 equipped with chirp sub-bottom profiler of 3600 meters, the ROVs must operate in surface through areas that earlier coaxial installations and dual frequency side scan Sonar, manufactured by water currents up to 6 knots, mid-column water avoided. The next generation of submarine cables Kongsberg, is now being ordered by vehicle operators currents of 4 knots, bottom currents of 1.5 knots, and to be installed will be faced with harsher bottom and survey companies for deepwater seabed survey bury in soil densities up to 150 kilo Pascal (kPa). topography, requiring more rigorous installation work. The current HUGIN 3000 configuration Additionally, these ROVs must be launched in Sea tools and jet-assisted plows for initial burial. These evolved from mine counter-measures research, State 5 conditions and recovered in Sea State 6. The topographical features and soil density in the less requiring bathymetry and image identification operational sea state criteria requirement mandates desirable cable routes have created the need for more functions, but the HUGIN has effectively detected the use of an integrated Launch and Recovery System powerful Post Lay Inspection and Burial (PLIB) mines in depths ranging from 80 to 200 meters from (LARS), which has migrated to an extendable A-frame systems and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) altitudes ranging from 9 to 30 meters from the seabed. that can allow the ROV to interface with the water capable of operating at greater depths. Because of more easily than the knuckle-boom cranes that were terrorist activities and greater probabilities of natural AUVs could carry out and record periodic previously used. aggression occurrences, increased protective measures cable ground conditioning surveys to establish a must be implemented to protect these fiber optic baseline to facilitate detection of new mine-like The system design and operational communication channels. objects found on the seabed near cable paths. This requirements for this new generation of vehicle function would be an adjunct to surveys carried out provides for “graceful operational degradation” so that A major development in the Unmanned to meet cable environmental requirements under effective mission performance is achieved. Engineered Underwater Vehicle (UUV) arena is the use of state and federal permits. As threat levels increase, risk mitigation and system redundancy have limited Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for AUV security patrols could be initiated to compare the need for abrupt operations termination due to survey and video recording observation. In the past the seabed conditions with previously recorded and single sub-system or component failure. Because of 25 years, UUVs have developed from scientific updated bottoms surveys. Its processing capacity is the expenses associated with cable repair, the operator laboratory prototypes and sensor test beds to essential capable of effectively conducting post lay inspection of ROV systems must minimize the repair vehicle support systems for ocean industries. AUVs are or even processing current conditions compared to downtime. It is, therefore, important that provisions unmanned robotic vehicles, free of umbilical cables, prior surveys to aid in planning remedial maintenance be made for electrical and hydraulic subsystems utilizing advanced program languages and protocols burial operations. degradation before final failure, where practical, to to define missions, i.e., seabed survey without fixed allow for operations to be completed or gracefully

40 terminated before the ROV resurfaces. • De-trench/uncover buried submarine cable react to possible terrorist threat, and are investing in system to depth of 2 meters surveillance systems and UMVs that protect water Redundant subsystems on the ROVs provide • Determine burial depth +/- 2 cm approaches from ribbed hull inflatable boats (RHIBs), additional mission confidence. The operating • Dredge holes for placement of special SCUBA divers, small disposable AUVs that might personnel have ready access to a display of diagnostic equipment and sensors carry explosives, and even swimmers approaching information in order to properly assess vehicle system • Grip and cut submarine cable, rope, tow cable their sites. failures. The newest ROVs operate through fiber optic • Grip and cut anchor chain links, which will provide for all-command controls • Disengage debris (i.e., otter boards, trawling and transmission of sensor signals. Copper conductors equipment, and fishing gear) tangled on cable Use of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) for are still used for electrical power. Reliability of • Attach lift lines for recovery of cable, optical Surveillance and Surveys the system meantime between failure (MTBF) and amplifier , and associated submersible plant ease of maintenance time to repair (MTTR) are of • Perform IR, thermal and/or visual inspection Another UMV that has recently gained paramount importance. Sensor systems can now and video recording of submarine cable attention as a result of the attack on the Cole is the process data locally on the ROVs, due to component system in exposed areas, buried areas, sites Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). For the U.S. Navy miniaturization and the increased speed of the onboard of natural/aggressive cable faults or acts of the USV will play a significant role in the littoral battle processors. However, due to the increased number terrorism zone, blue water and brown water engagements, and of sensor suites on the ROVs, the amount of data • Provide electronic detection and surveillance as surveillance and interdiction vessels in harbor and transferred from the ROV to the surface control van of fiber optic cable system ports. For the USCG, the USV will be used for harbor has increased drastically with the capability demands. • Provide acoustic inspection of all types of and port surveillance and as the surface platform for a The latest manufactured design for ROV umbilicals surface laid and buried submarine cable small electric ROV used for hull and dock inspections. provide up to 4 Gb/s bandwidth for telemetry, video, systems But several of the most important roles that USVs will and other data transfer. Special application ROVs • Data logging/recording of all visual, assume will be under the auspices of the department needed for advanced survey, sensor suite platforms electronic, and acoustic data, including Global of Homeland Security. USVs will become their and surveillance technologies will utilize a 10 Gb/s Positioning System (GPS) information for workhorse for infrastructure protection. fiber optic link. The operational requirements for interface with fiber gyro system these ROVs may resemble the following: • Perform cable/equipment bottom positioning Likewise, underwater cable companies will with +/- 6 cm accuracy employ USVs to provide continued surveillance of • 500-hp. ROV with removable jetting package • Position cable protective matting with cable landing sites and shallow cable crossings, patrol • Ability to jet in 150 kilo Pascal (kPa) soil manipulators depot areas, and provide surveillance of underwater • Operate at water depth of 3600 meters or • Install/remove uriduct with manipulators approaches to cable ships and maritime assets. The greater • Recover artifacts with manipulators USV will become the high-speed platform for • Perform survey operations and bottom transporting an inspection AUV to the site of a cable sampling break to assess the damage and to determine the cause. • Initial Burial/retro-burial of submarine cable The UMV marketplace is rapidly evolving The USV will be equipped with the capability of system up to 2 meters below subsea floor due to the 2001 to 2004 terrorist activities throughout transmitting video and AUV survey data back to either • Locate and track buried fiber optic cable the world. Corporations who previously did not the host ship or to headquarters for analysis. system feel threatened by global events have chosen to

41 Use of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) for Future • Sea Patrol The Department of Defense has included Infrastructure Surveillance billions of dollars for the development of Unmanned • Terrestrial Patrol Air Vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs are not the In the recent past, the cable owners drones of the 1990’s, nor are they isolated laboratory significantly enhanced their ability to detect Use of the above practices enhanced to detect projects. Because of military funding, these UAVs surveillance by simply redesigning the programs terrorist surveillance may impose relatively little extra have evolved to integrated sensor platforms built on already in place for traditional cable protection and expense to cable owners already following ICPC rugged airframes that have multiple detection and training their personnel to consider possible terrorist Recommendation No. 6. The crucial element required observation systems required to meet the requirements actions in addition to traditional threats to cable and in many cases missing is to use these practices for of government agencies and the military. In the recent systems. These traditional procedures are described in antiterrorism defense in training cable station personnel, Iraqi War, the Predator performed in an outstanding ICPC Recommendation No. 6 and include: pilots, patrol skippers and other vendors to be aware of manner, proving the value to expanded unmanned the threat of terrorism, terrorism surveillance tactics, observation. CONOPS (Concept of Operation) have • Radar and visual monitoring of vessel traffic and the importance of documenting and promptly defined detailed data-gathering techniques for these from cable stations with clear views of cable reporting conditions or suspicious events to supervisors, UAVs, and major defense contractors such as Northrop landings. local security, and the recently established National Grumman Corp., Boeing, and Lockheed Martin are Maritime Intelligence Center. looking to commercialize their platforms for homeland • Vessel monitoring systems security and other surveillance operations. The Sea patrols are arranged under private charter; frequently using fishing commercial versions of these aircrafts would utilize • Air patrols vessels to patrol cable routes. ICPC Recommendation No. 6 notes, in part: Sea patrols are typically undertaken througout the year. However, in the benefits of the Navy’s Tactical Control System areas where fishing vessels are concentrated over cable grounds dur- (TCS) to fly cable routes and return to base after the Typically, private air patrol services under contract require the aircraft ing a certain season, the patrols may be concentrated into that season. with a trained observer to be airborne within 30 minutes of being alerted Randomizing the day of the week and time of the day of the patrols is completion of an aerial survey. to a fault. In addition, these aircraft fly random cable route patrols; their recommended in order to ensure the fishermen cannot predict when the pilots become very familiar with normal traffic and ship identification. On patrol will occur. Fishing vessels identified by the sea patrol to be near The USCG has selected and agreed to occasion, it may be possible to utilize Coast Guard aircraft to assist. ICPC the location of submarine cables are hailed on VHF radio and informed purchase the Eagle Eye unmanned tilt rotor aircraft Recommendation No. 6 at 5.2 notes in part: of that they are in the vicinity of a submarine cable. Additionally, cable from Bell Helicopter Textron, which is a subcontractor Air patrols are typically flown throughout the year. However, in areas warning charts may be passed to the fishing vessel indicating the loca- where fishing vessels are concentrated over cable grounds during tion of the cable. By recording the fishing vessel identifying number to the Lockheed Martin Deepwater Program. The a certain season, the flights may be concentrated into that season. and name, the cable Maintenance Authority can later crossed reference Eagle Eye will fly coast and port surveillance Randomizing the day of the week and time of the day of the flights is the information to determine if the fishing vessels have been contacted missions, beginning in 2006. It will be replaced by a recommended. In this manner fishermen do not become comfortable previously during port visits or previously been sent cable protection fishing over a cable all week except during the regular flight. Fishing charts. USCG version of the Global Hawk in 2016. vessels spotted by the air patrol are hailed on VHF radio and informed ICPC Recommendation No. 6 notes, in part: of that they are in the vicinity of a submarine cables. Additinally, All actions for the protection of the submerged plant referred to above In addition, Northrop Grumman will market leaflets can be dropped indicating the location of the cable. Identify- need to be complemented with an effective monitoring of the land cable the Sea Scout, which is a USCG version of its Fire ing numbers and names can be crossed referenced later to determine if route in order to ensure that the land cable suffers no aggression. Scout unmanned helicopter, and it will be operational the fishing vessels have been contacted during port visits or sent cable For this purpose, Cable Station Managers shall establish a routine, protection charts or if additional noficiation might be required. preferable daily, consisting of a visual observation of all of the land in 2005. These same vehicles can be marketed Air patrols shall be vailable on a 24-hour call-out basis in the event cable routes to confirm that no construction work is being undertaken in to the telecommunications and the gas and oil of a cable break. Modern night vision and image stabilizing optics the vicinity of the cable. Sometimes, this can be accomplished simply industries because they both invest in infrastructure can enable identification of possible cable breakers even at night. by delegating somebody from the Cable Station staff to follow the land Identifying a cable breaker and collecting damages from them sends a cable route when driving to/from the Station, to observe it carefully and that spans both the continents and ocean floor. Both strong message throughout the fishing community. report any potentially dangerous activity. 42 environments require aerial patrols and repetitive case of international communications, a centralized Robert T. Bannon, President, BANNON surveillance as part of their preventative maintenance agency is required to coordinate permitting, and the INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING LLC, IEEE and protection programs. security of all undersea infrastructures is desirous and Fellow, Secretary / Treasurer IEEE Sensors Council, long overdue. Industry must now recognize the value IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society ‑ AdCom To further UAV development and other of partnering with government agencies on security Member, Chairman‑ Submarine Cables Technology defense systems, the Department of Homeland issues, and jointly they must develop national and Committee, Advisory Committee Member to Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) Security plans to create a technology development international policies. Governmental and industrial and IEEE‑ Japan Committee on Submarine Scientific office called the Homeland Security Advanced consortiums can do much to deprive the terrorists Cables Use and Related Technologies, U.S. – Russian Research Program (HSARPA), which would operate of easy targets to attack. Strong regulations and Homeland Security Technical Lead (2005), Retired similar to the Pentagon’s DARPA. international laws based on UNCLOS should be put District Manager‑ AT&T International (Submarine in place allowing for seizure of assets in reparation Systems), DMTS Supervisor and Senior Engineer‑Bell for acts of aggression, as well as mandatory sentences Labs, Former Delegate to International Cable Conclusion when convicted of terrorist activities. Protection Committee (ICPC), Pennsylvania State University ‑BSEE , George Washington University Protection of critical underwater Furthermore, current protection and recovery ‑ MSEE, PSU ‑ MBA‑Global Business, GW infrastructure, as well as ports and harbor, must plans must be expanded to provide the support MBA‑International Business, Wharton School, be ongoing. The terrorists are learning to use required for the recovery from multiple global University of Pennsylvania ‑ MBA. sophisticated technologies in their war against our disasters such as the devastation caused by Hurricanes way of life; therefore, protection today does not Katrina and Rita in the south central United States, Douglas R. Burnett, Partner, Holland & Knight guarantee protection tomorrow. Thomas Jefferson or the October 2005 earthquakes in Pakistan. The LLP, International Law Adviser, International Cable Protection Committee Ltd. (ICPC) 1998-present, is credited with having said “The price of liberty is establishment of multi-national subsea infrastructure Chairman, Committee on International Law of the eternal vigilance.” With the implementation of new protection plans can lay the groundwork for making Sea, Maritime Law Association of the United States, safeguards for communications, whether the system ports and harbors accessible for disaster relief 1994-2000, Chairman, Committee on Admiralty and protected is an underwater fiber optic or a wireless assistance, clearing shipping channels, provide for the Maritime Law, New York County Lawyers Association network, there occurs a new set of potential liabilities critical delivery oil and gas required for transportation, (NYCLA, 2003-present), Instituto de Derecho and vulnerabilities. Therefore, pro-active risk and provide the required communications via a Maritimo, Captain, USNR, DOD Level II Anti- assessment and mitigation technologies for fiber optic restoration backbone network. Terrorism Instructor-Military Sealift Command 2002, cables and sensors are vital to the nation’s well-being. Commanding Officer, NAVCENT NCAPS DET C, Uninterruptible communications are required for every 2000-2002, U.S. Naval Academy, B.S. 1972, Defense phase of modern life; therefore, strong intervention Language Institute (Portuguese and Spanish), 1976, and prosecution techniques are mandatory. In the University of Denver, J.D. 1980.

43 Telecom Solutions... Anywhere.

www.wfnstrategies.com Engineering for submarine and terrestrial optical cable, microwave/WiMax, mobile, satellite and RF systems With the gradual recovery of the submarine telecoms ends using two of our vessels and our burial tool GO- industry becoming apparent, last year the senior JET. management of three shallow water specialist companies decided that the time was right to re-form Strong project management skills, good engineering General Offshore. Before it had been amalgamated and clarity of reports are considered by General into the Cable and Wireless Marine organisation in Offshore to be the most important aspects to any the mid 1990’s, the original General Offshore had project to ensure that it is completed safely, on time established a high reputation as a professional and within budget - whilst giving due regard to the shallow water installation company that was capable environment and local interests. In order to ensure of operating effectively world-wide. It is our aim that consistency and reliability, we manage our project in the re-formed General Offshore Ltd (GOL) should not accordance with ISO 9000 standards. only re-establish this reputation – but exceed it. We have extensive experience in locating and fitting The three companies that provide the resources for out suitable locally based vessels in order to provide the new General Offshore are: Wellington Offshore our client with the best and most cost effective Ltd (wholly owned by Maritime & Underwater Security solution. As a result, we have established contacts Consultants Ltd), Falmouth Divers Ltd, and Pelagian world-wide to assist us in finding these vessels. When Ltd. The majority of the management within GOL have we charter vessels, they are managed by General worked for the original General Offshore Corporation/ Offshore personnel to ensure a seamless operation Rising Anew From General Offshore UK, and Falmouth Divers is a well for the duration of the project. established international diving company that has consistently provided diving support for General Similarly, if our own burial equipment will not provide The Ashes Offshore UK’s installation operations since 1991. the optimum solution, we have first hand experience of a wide range of burial tools – capable of jetting By combining our skills, experience and resources and rock cutting work – and we will select the best By we are able to provide the offshore cable installation machine available for the job. We have the in-house Andy Shaw industry with an exceptionally capable and well expertise to engineer and install direct and indirect tried shallow water installation service world-wide. shore end landings with all necessary burial and Our companies have offices strategically situated remedial works. in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Far East and the USA in order to provide effective support to Not only do our resources include shallow water GOL’s operations world-wide. Through Maritime & vessels and burial equipment, we have around forty Underwater Security Consultants Ltd, GOL also has personnel available from within the organisation the financial backing of ICTS, one of the security to support our ongoing and future projects. These industry’s leading international companies. GOL’s personnel include project managers, engineers, head office is on board the HQS Wellington, moored superintendents, riggers, burial machine operators, along the Victoria Embankment in London. divers, cable technicians and all the necessary office- Since its re-formation, GOL has had an excellent based administration and technical staff to support response from the industry. During the last quarter of the on-site operations. 2005, the company successfully completed a contract to provide shallow water support for the removal of We are therefore looking forward to re-establishing some 70 cables and to install a further 20 cables in the the name of General Offshore as one of the leading Western Approaches. GOL is currently preparing for shallow water installation contractors serving the cable installation operations in the Channel Islands, world-wide sub-sea cable market. which will include the installation of 3 pre-laid shore 45 THE CABLESHIPS A global guide to the latest known locations of the world’s cableships*, as ot March 2006. Information Provided by Llyods List.

ARRIVAL SAILED SAILED MOVE TYPE ARRIVAL ARRIVAL SAILED LR NO VESSEL NAME DATE DATE DATE PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME QUALIFIER DATE DATE EST DATE QUALIFIER EST QUALIFIER

8027810 Wave Venture 2/28/2006 2/28/2006 Victoria(CAN) Canada 8027781 Peter Faber P W 1/22/2006 1/22/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 9190298 Polar King P E 2/22/2006 2/22/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 9236200 Normand Clipper P W 2/22/2006 2/22/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 9230414 Polar Queen 2/24/2006 Dundee United Kingdom 9230414 Polar Queen 2/17/2006 Y A 2/24/2006 Y B continental shelf United Kingdom 9230414 Polar Queen 2/5/2006 2/5/2006 Dundee United Kingdom 9247053 Ile de Brehat P E 1/21/2006 1/21/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 9247053 Ile de Brehat P E 1/20/2006 1/20/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 7619458 Bourbon Skagerrak P W 1/22/2006 1/22/2006 Dover Strait United Kingdom 6930520 Elektron 2/1/2006 2/1/2006 Peterhead United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 2/18/2006 2/18/2006 Peterhead United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 2/9/2006 Y A 2/18/2006 Y B continental shelf United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 2/8/2006 2/9/2006 Peterhead United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 2/2/2006 2/3/2006 Dundee United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 1/21/2006 1/22/2006 Hartlepool United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 1/15/2006 1/16/2006 Lerwick United Kingdom 8813910 Discovery 1/9/2006 1/12/2006 Lerwick United Kingdom 9019602 Teneo P W 1/7/2006 1/7/2006 Gibraltar Gibraltar 8302014 Giulio Verne P W 2/24/2006 2/24/2006 Gibraltar Gibraltar

* Over 1000 tons ARRIVAL SAILED SAILED MOVE TYPE ARRIVAL ARRIVAL SAILED LR NO VESSEL NAME DATE DATE DATE PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME QUALIFIER DATE DATE EST DATE QUALIFIER EST QUALIFIER 9236200 Normand Clipper 2/21/2006 2/21/2006 Everingen Netherlands 9247053 Ile de Brehat 2/21/2006 2/21/2006 Everingen Netherlands 8813910 Discovery 2/28/2006 Velsen Netherlands 8813910 Discovery 2/25/2006 2/25/2006 Ymuiden Netherlands 8813910 Discovery 2/22/2006 2/22/2006 Ymuiden Netherlands 9019602 Teneo 1/10/2006 Y A 1/30/2006 Y B Freeport(BHS) Bahamas 9199854 Team Oman P S 1/18/2006 1/18/2006 Suez Arab Republic of Egypt 8302014 Giulio Verne P N 1/30/2006 1/30/2006 Port Said Arab Republic of Egypt 9250529 Pertinacia 2/25/2006 Port Arthur United States of America 9250529 Pertinacia 2/22/2006 2/25/2006 Y B Port Arthur United States of America 8110942 Sea Wrangler 1/22/2006 2/21/2006 Mobile United States of America 7616779 Calamity Jane 2/7/2006 2/12/2006 Mobile United States of America 7616779 Calamity Jane 1/3/2006 Y A 1/17/2006 Mobile United States of America 9019602 Teneo 1/30/2006 2/13/2006 Portsmouth(NH USA) United States of America 9190298 Polar King 2/1/2006 2/6/2006 Mobile United States of America 9190298 Polar King 1/23/2006 1/26/2006 Mobile United States of America 9190298 Polar King 1/16/2006 1/17/2006 Mobile United States of America 9231535 Normand Cutter 2/11/2006 2/14/2006 Mobile United States of America 9231535 Normand Cutter 1/28/2006 1/29/2006 Mobile United States of America 9215218 Maersk Reliance 2/11/2006 2/17/2006 Mobile United States of America 9215218 Maersk Reliance 1/27/2006 1/27/2006 Mobile United States of America 9215218 Maersk Reliance 1/14/2006 1/26/2006 Mobile United States of America 9236509 Tyco Responder 1/16/2006 1/16/2006 Hovensa American Virgin Islands 9236509 Tyco Responder 1/12/2006 1/12/2006 Hovensa American Virgin Islands 8936645 Sarku Clementine 1/20/2006 T 1/20/2006 T Dampier Australia 9105889 Teliri 2/7/2006 2/10/2006 Ashdod Israel 9105889 Teliri 1/21/2006 1/22/2006 Ashdod Israel 9248100 Rene Descartes 2/13/2006 2/13/2006 Catania Italy 6514974 Certamen 2/27/2006 Catania Italy ARRIVAL SAILED SAILED MOVE TYPE ARRIVAL ARRIVAL SAILED LR NO VESSEL NAME DATE DATE DATE PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME QUALIFIER DATE DATE EST DATE QUALIFIER EST QUALIFIER 9188439 Subaru 1/30/2006 2/13/2006 Yokohama Japan 9207065 Fu Hai 2/8/2006 2/13/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9183867 Geo Maru 1/19/2006 2/2/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9183867 Geo Maru 1/18/2006 1/19/2006 Shimonoseki Japan 9183867 Geo Maru 1/16/2006 1/18/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9183867 Geo Maru 1/12/2006 1/16/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9183867 Geo Maru 1/6/2006 1/12/2006 Moji Japan 9227754 Geomaster 1/18/2006 2/2/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9227754 Geomaster 1/17/2006 1/18/2006 Shimonoseki Japan 9227754 Geomaster 1/16/2006 1/17/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9227754 Geomaster 1/15/2006 1/15/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 2/26/2006 Y A 3/2/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 2/26/2006 3/2/2006 Y B Moji Japan 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 2/10/2006 2/24/2006 Moji Japan 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 1/22/2006 1/29/2006 Moji Japan 9017070 KDD Ocean Link 1/24/2006 2/15/2006 Yokohama Japan 9017070 KDD Ocean Link 1/9/2006 1/12/2006 Wakamatsu Japan 9017070 KDD Ocean Link 1/5/2006 1/7/2006 Yokohama Japan 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 2/25/2006 2/25/2006 Busan Republic of Korea 9017824 KDD Pacific Link 1/21/2006 1/21/2006 Busan Republic of Korea 6930520 Elektron 2/22/2006 2/23/2006 Aabenraa Denmark 6930520 Elektron 2/4/2006 2/4/2006 Aabenraa Denmark 8027781 Peter Faber 1/18/2006 1/22/2006 Y B Dunkirk France 8027781 Peter Faber 1/9/2006 1/18/2006 Y B Calais France 8027781 Peter Faber 1/4/2006 1/8/2006 Dunkirk France 8108676 Leon Thevenin 2/14/2006 Brest France 9247053 Ile de Brehat 1/24/2006 2/11/2006 Brest France 9247053 Ile de Brehat 1/9/2006 1/16/2006 Brest France 9252462 Viking Forcados 2/18/2006 B Port Harcourt Nigeria ARRIVAL SAILED SAILED MOVE TYPE ARRIVAL ARRIVAL SAILED LR NO VESSEL NAME DATE DATE DATE PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME QUALIFIER DATE DATE EST DATE QUALIFIER EST QUALIFIER 8027781 Peter Faber 2/6/2006 2/10/2006 Pointe a Pitre Guadeloupe 9125140 Ocean Pearl 1/23/2006 1/24/2006 Stavanger Norway 9230414 Polar Queen 2/14/2006 2/17/2006 Bergen Norway 7619458 Bourbon Skagerrak 1/19/2006 1/19/2006 Kristiansand Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/20/2006 2/21/2006 Drammen Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/17/2006 Y A 2/20/2006 Y B Holmestrand Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/12/2006 2/17/2006 Bergen Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/11/2006 2/11/2006 Kristiansand Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/2/2006 2/4/2006 Y B Stavanger Norway 6930520 Elektron 1/18/2006 1/19/2006 Drammen Norway 6930520 Elektron 1/10/2006 1/12/2006 Drammen Norway 8813910 Discovery 1/12/2006 Y A 1/15/2006 Y B Bergen Norway 6930520 Elektron 2/7/2006 2/8/2006 Gdansk Poland 9248710 Cable Protector 2/3/2006 Y A 2/13/2006 Y B Pulau Batam Indonesia 9248710 Cable Protector 1/9/2006 Y A 1/13/2006 Y B Indonesia Indonesia 6930520 Elektron 1/3/2006 1/6/2006 Dublin Republic of Ireland 9242376 Tyco Durable 2/11/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9242376 Tyco Durable 1/13/2006 2/11/2006 Y B Singapore Republic of Singapore 9248710 Cable Protector 2/13/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9248710 Cable Protector 1/13/2006 2/3/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 7824998 Setouchi Surveyor 1/20/2006 2/5/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9165188 Segero 1/12/2006 1/15/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 8936645 Sarku Clementine 2/18/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9207065 Fu Hai 1/9/2006 1/12/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9183867 Geo Maru 2/11/2006 2/16/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9227754 Geomaster 2/11/2006 2/18/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 7803566 Sarku Santubong 2/15/2006 2/19/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 8506062 Trinity Supporter 2/18/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 8506062 Trinity Supporter 1/21/2006 2/18/2006 Y B Singapore Republic of Singapore ARRIVAL SAILED SAILED MOVE TYPE ARRIVAL ARRIVAL SAILED LR NO VESSEL NAME DATE DATE DATE PORT NAME COUNTRY NAME QUALIFIER DATE DATE EST DATE QUALIFIER EST QUALIFIER 9063275 Asean Restorer 2/10/2006 3/1/2006 Singapore Republic of Singapore 9063275 Asean Restorer 1/11/2006 2/10/2006 Y B Singapore Republic of Singapore 9165188 Segero 1/9/2006 1/9/2006 Map Ta Phut Thailand 9199854 Team Oman P E 1/6/2006 1/6/2006 Tarifa Spain 8108676 Leon Thevenin P S 2/3/2006 2/3/2006 Cape Finisterre Spain 7619458 Bourbon Skagerrak P E 1/28/2006 1/28/2006 Tarifa Spain 7619458 Bourbon Skagerrak P S 1/25/2006 1/25/2006 Cape Finisterre Spain 8302014 Giulio Verne P W 2/28/2006 2/28/2006 Tarifa Spain 8302014 Giulio Verne 2/24/2006 Y A 2/28/2006 Y B Algeciras Spain 9247041 Ile de Batz 1/25/2006 1/26/2006 Sharjah United Arab Emirates 7814436 Eclipse A 1/12/2006 1/13/2006 Fujairah Anch. United Arab Emirates 9248100 Rene Descartes P W 2/20/2006 2/20/2006 Dardanelles Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes 2/16/2006 Y A 2/20/2006 Y B Gelibolu Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes P E 2/16/2006 2/16/2006 Dardanelles Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes P W 2/5/2006 2/5/2006 Dardanelles Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes P W 2/5/2006 2/5/2006 Istanbul Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes 1/28/2006 Y A 2/5/2006 Y B Igneada Turkey 9248100 Rene Descartes P E 1/28/2006 1/28/2006 Dardanelles Turkey 9242352 Tyco Dependable 2/24/2006 2/28/2006 Keelung Taiwan 9242352 Tyco Dependable 1/9/2006 2/14/2006 Keelung Taiwan 8306591 Lodbrog 2/16/2006 Keelung Taiwan 8306591 Lodbrog 1/14/2006 2/5/2006 Keelung Taiwan 9063287 Cable Retriever 2/23/2006 Kaohsiung Taiwan 7424786 DP Reel 1/28/2006 1/29/2006 Cape Town South Africa 9165188 Segero 2/19/2006 2/21/2006 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 9165188 Segero 2/11/2006 2/14/2006 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 9207065 Fu Hai 1/19/2006 1/25/2006 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 9017070 KDD Ocean Link 2/18/2006 2/20/2006 Shanghai People’s Republic of China 9019602 Teneo 1/10/2006 1/10/2006 Las Palmas Canary Islands wasWarrior impressed event and was came still out in of everyone’sthis reassured memory. in It the long term profitability of my supplier’s business. is for these reasons among others that STC (UK) I was damn wrong: This methodology bears an inherentrejected risk the of over Alcatel‘s investing: suggestion Where there to come is a with a goodjoint case bid, for oneto offer cable abetween “European” A and B,solution. nothing prevents 4 teams to raise funds and build 4 cables in the sameOne timeframe of the winningbased on thefactors same businesshas been the Letter to a friend plan.Port-Botany This is what cable our businessfactory. has Such done! a factory Building was a Letter to a friend farstrong too many requirement cables on the from “thick” OTC routes, (now and Telstra) not and enough on the “thin” ones. fromfrom JeanJean DevosDevos the Australian Government. A few yearsAlcatel later withwas 5the colleagues, most motivated. we made our Such a mindfactory to develop could a expandmuch need its project influence landing in thein Pacific India. An obvious one! We thought we were in good shapewhere when the your three company, other Bob, players one ofwere the mosthistorically prewell-eminent established banks, accepted in this region,to join our which project. represents Wea had large a highly part recognised of their managementmarket. They team, saw a this My preferred banker friend good business case, a signed supply contract, the supportfactory of some as a key risk customers, for their and existing a partner facilities!was My dear friend Bob, bringingSubOptic at his ‘87 full in risk Versailles the necessary came seedat the money; right time. I was there to tell the finance community all kind But you drove us crazy in your exhausting process It is where the Australian teams discovered the It has been a long time since I last heard of you. of good things about the project, the technology, and procedures, legal issues, various “road shows” Actually I have not heard of any of my friends in the theand supplier’l’Astrolabe, seriousness, landed the in quasi 1788-absence to discover of real that andFrench you finally model, left brutallya close our cooperation table…and the between financeMy communityDear for quiteFriend a while. risks,Captain the easiness Cook ofwas the already implementation around schedule. bearing the submarineAlcatel andbusiness. FT, exactly what they wanted to es- No more brilliant and sophisticated papers It was my very first exposure to the finance British flag. So Botany Bay is now for me the tablish in their country. in“Botany the last conferencesBay” I have attended! After community, a strange planet speaking a kind of My dear Bob, as you understand, I have bad taste in ignominiously exiting the submarine cable segment, foreignsymbol language of a dream – to me which at least becomes – and I wasa reality! not my mouth.My friend, things are changed since, but II supposepublished you recently are exercising a modest your skillnovel, in somewhose other title comfortableTasman in my 2 shoes has ,been since Iyet did another not wanted chapter my Weone both thing have beenstays misled true: When by the newyou dominantoffer something, “cash cow” area. Frankly speaking and don’t feel customer to fail in his attempt to raise their much culture. The mere reality is that building the insulted,is Botany this Bay. is good It is news the forplace me! in This Australia gives me where the neededin this money! long ItAnglo-French was so important competition! that, very much The necessarythe reader global can infrastructure see between is athe duty lines not a if you are hope that our industry has recoveredAlcatel its established self-control a againstaward my to will, Alcatel I had came been forcedout as to aenter big insurprise a two to business!or not genuinely motivated and sincere. Then and is now prepared to mastersubmarine its destiny again, cable fac- daysmany, rehearsal including exercise inside in the Alcatel. city of London Everybody prior was your offer becomes really attractive and this and return to its original culture: Technology at the coming to New-York! service of the community. tory in 1989 as part of naturally expecting the British to win that bat- opens the route to “Botany Bay.” its contract for the I foundtle, and myself such sitting an nextexpectation to you, Bob, was at atthe thatdinner time Jean Devos kindly hosted by the Gemini owners at the end of If my memory is correct we firstTasman met in 2 Newlink.-York In this very logical. See you soon. for the Gemini project “road show”. You were that session. You were kind enough to explain to me Jean Devos at that time a key player in thesame development bay, where of two the complexThere and wereheavy processso many which difficulties was needed toand Submarcom Consulting private cables and the entrepreneurialcenturies emergence before the reachmisunderstanding a possible investment between decision. AustraliaThanks to you, and Jean Devos of the carrier’s carrier model. This model was I was learning a new music: Debt or Equity, Return French expedition France, the main one being the French presence Submarcom Consulting the new gospel, the new vision, claiming “Urbi et on investment, Info memo, Business case, Risks Orbi”:”Wealth for everyone on“La earth”! Pérouse” made of assessment,in the Pacific pricing area, strategy, the worse venture being capital the etc. nuclear I two ships, La Boussole bomb experiment in Tahiti! The sad Rainbow

51 44 UPCOMING CONFERENCES Diary AND EXHIBITIONS

Conference Date Venue www

ENTELEC 19-21 April 2006 Houston, Texas USA www.entelec.org

Offshore Technology Conference 1-4 May 2006 Houston, Texas USA www.otcnet.org/2006

www.oceans06ieeesingapore. Oceans 2006 Pacific 16-19 May 2006 Singapore org

Vancouver, British Columbia ICPC 2006 Plenary 16 - 18 May 2006 www.iscpc.org Canada

www.oceans06mtsieeeboston. Oceans 2006 North America 19-22 May 2006 Boston, Massachusetts USA org

Offshore Communications 8-9 November 2006 Houston, Texas USA www.offshorecoms.com Conference 2006

OES Homeland Security 5-7 December 2006 Newport, Rhode Island USA www.oceanicengineering.org Technology Workshop 2006

ITU Telecom World 2006 4-8 December 2006 Hong Kong, China www.itu.int/world2006/

Issue 25 March 2006  Submarine Telecoms Forum Is Published Bi-Monthly by WFN Strategies, L.L.C

Issue 25 March 2006 Submarine Telecoms Forum Is Published Bi-Monthly by WFN Strategies, L.L.C