CAPACITY
CONNECTION SUBSEA
DYNAMICS OF THE SUBMARINE CABLE BANDWIDTH MARKET: HOW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS INFLUENCE COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS – 2ND EDITION BY JOHN MAGUIRE INTRODUCTION
In this edition of Capacity Connections, we look at the commercial impact of relentless technological development in Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT), as it affects the submarine cable sphere. It is a heavily inter-dependent system, so we also touch upon governance and regulation—and the market. In a piece this short, we must focus on a detail, the better to observe the evolution in a narrowly defined segment. Accordingly, I have elected to focus on the Transatlantic market. At the submarine cable route level, note that demand and prices can vary widely depending on the system, route, capacity purchased, contract term, market conditions, and so on. Additionally, as new cable systems are deployed, with continuously increasing capacity and efficiency, the unit cost of submarine cable bandwidth reduces—and we expect bandwidth prices to reflect this continuous downward trend, albeit at a rate that can independently vary significantly depending on any number of factors, including the quantum of advancements, extent of overbuild, relative speed of parallel growth in market demand and, indeed, political and geopolitical factors.
20 SUBMARINE TELECOMS FORUM MAGAZINE
THE DAWN OF SUBMARINE COMMUNICATIONS1
The emergence and evolution of submarine cable technology has been pivotal in shaping the modern world, enabling global connectivity and the near seamless flow of information between countries and continents. Submarine cables emerged during in a time of massive industrial and scientific development towards the end of the industrial revolution and, particularly, following the invention of the telegraph. 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable, especially citing Haigh, Kenneth Richardson (1968). Cable Ships and Submarine Cables. London.
As early as the 1840s, German engineers were experimenting with underwater cables across the River Rhine. In 1850, the first cross-channel submarine cable was laid between France and England. The first Transatlantic telegraph cable was laid between Valentia Island, off the south-west coast of Ireland, and Newfoundland, by the appropriately named Atlantic Telegraph Company. The system achieved RFS in August 1858 and its in-service life ended a brief three weeks later. Its short life did little to encourage immediate re-building, but even its brief life, notably by means of a congratulatory telegram from Queen