Addressing the Future of the Submarine Cable Industry Alan Robinson SubOptic 2004 President
SubOptic 2004 is in the final stages of planning and preparation. The conference will be staged in Monaco from 29th March – 1st April 2004 in the magnificent facilities of the Grimaldi Forum. It is a “must attend” event for all those who are involved in “subcables” whether it be from the carrier, ISP, or multi-media community, the supply side – manufacturers, ship owners and the wide range of subcontracting parties, large or small, and the environmentalists, specialist permitting agencies and finance and legal companies who are playing an increasing role in our industry, in the current tough economic climate. It is to these latter communities that SubOptic 2004 should have an added appeal. The venture capitalist, equity funds and their associated commercial and legal partners should view the conference as a major opportunity to hear about new ideas, new technologies, commercial strategies and industry economics which could provide the seed for a new business venture. Our industry hit a peak at Kyoto and we spent happy days congratulating ourselves on the growth opportunities that had been created by de-regulation and new technology and underpinned by a mountain of debt. Heady days! And now we stare at the abyss. Cyclical industry patterns are nothing new but almost as soon as the lights went off in Kyoto, we entered a downturn that seems without end. And here we are, 3 years later in an almost unrecognisable state looking like a Grisham novel with Chapter 11’s, bankruptcies, enormous write-downs, huge job losses and little sign of an upturn – an unparalleled period of change. But out of change comes opportunity and it will be these opportunities that SubOptic 2004 will be focussing on. 11