FROM THE
PROGRAMME COMMITTEE
UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH OR MAJOR CONCERNS Hear All Sides of the Argument from the Leaders in Our Industry at Suboptic 2019 BY STUART BARNES
W
hat a time to hold a dedicated Submarine Conference? SubOptic 2019 is being held at a confluence of huge opportunities and threats. On the plus side there is an unprecedented number of systems being installed, driven by the insatiable demand for Social Media, both from a transmission and storage perspective. We have seen massive leaps in technology in the three short years since the Dubai Conference in 2016. And there seems to be no stopping this seemingly irrepressible force! So, is all in the garden rosy? Apparently not. Firstly, the UN is trying to flex its muscles outside the traditional national limits. This could have major, major consequences to permitting and even repairs. Secondly, we’re at the point where we’re just finding that the supposedly infinite fibre bandwidth is not quite limitless, even with the cleverest technical stuff ! And finally, our major systems are under attack, both physically and as a conduit to cyber-attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS), on an industrial and perhaps geopolitical scale.
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SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE
It is for this very reason that we have an unprecedented number of papers and submissions this year reflecting the health and current vitality of our industry. SubOptic is the only Submarine Specific event whose foundations are technically based and covers the whole spectrum of topic
Our major systems are under attack, both physically and as a conduit to cyber-attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS), on an industrial and perhaps geopolitical scale. areas (from purely legal and commercial all the way via the highly technical to ship design and cable deployment). And this year is a bumper year. We have nearly 100 papers and 50 posters meeting our quality threshold, and these are complemented by Master Classes, Keynotes, Round Tables, all adding colour to the opportunities and risks we are confronting as an industry.
Stuart Barnes Programme Chair
We have reluctantly agreed as a Committee to organise the Papers Sessions into three parallel tracks due to this embarrassment of riches and against the best practice of two, established for Dubai. This of course will mean that it will be more difficult to see all the papers you may wish. Don’t despair though. We have developed a Conference App to help you navigate through your days at the event. Furthermore, we are planning to video each paper to help you see the presentations at your leisure subsequently. You will have access to the App when you register to start the planning process! The Paper Sessions are subdivided into 8 distinct topic areas, which have attractions and content suitable for anyone working in our great industry from accountant to geek, making it unique for its breadth and technical content. These are; Oil & Gas and Special Markets, Global Citizen, Commercial and Funding, Marine Advancements, Networks of the Future, Wet Technology, Dry Technology and finally Regulatory, Legal and Security.