Cutting the Gordian Knot
An alternative view of the cable industry by Tim Pugh
An oracle foretold that he who untied the Gordian knot would rule all of Asia. According to legend, Alexander the Great cut the knot with his sword. From that time, “cutting the Gordian knot” came to mean solving a difficult problem. 45
It would be a gross understatement to say that the previous months have seen a dramatic decline in activity within the submarine cable sector. The analysts are busy dissecting the facts from the fiction tr ying to establish the causes of the devastating crash that has shaken the market. There are many differing views as to why the industry went into free fall and there is an even greater deal of speculation as to when it will recover. It is therefore felt inappropriate to burden you with another theory as to how and when the industry will pick itself up. When an industry is in a state of flux it provides the perfect opportunity to take stock. The oil and gas sector, like the submarine cable industry, is renowned for its cyclical nature. Its last period of decline was as recent as 1999 and yet it continues to thrive. This industry sector uses periods of decline to reconsolidate and investigate new innovative technology that could be a benefit in the future. This has clearly been demonstrated over the past few years with the level of commitment to autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). This is seen as the new way of surveying, and although