By Robert Mazer The subsea cable financial debacle that occurred at the beginning of this decade has finally begun to usher in a new environment where efficiency rules and speculation has disappeared. In the last several years, we have seen the rise of the niche cables that are designed to meet extremely specific requirements. Relatedly, we have seen the emergence of creative means to introduce new cable routes in a more efficient manner. Finally, in 2007, we have seen proposals for the first time in six years to construct and operate transoceanic cables. The Niche Cables Many of the most remote places on the planet are islands or geographical locations in the far north latitudes. Until the late 1960s, these places’ ability to communicate with the outside world were extremely limited: shortwave radio, microwave, or an occasional cable drop. The introduction of satellite technology allowed these locations to reach the outside world on
a regular but limited basis. However, the technical limitations of satellites and the inherent technical and financial challenges of terrestrial technologies insured that these geographic locations would not have access to state-of-the-art communications technology. Concurrently, the introduction of new technologies (e.g., Internet, computer networking, etc.) significantly increased demand for high quality telecommunications technology from remote locations. In the last year, several of these cables have been authorized by the FCC and construction has commenced. Specifically, two subsea cables have been approved to connect remote areas in Alaska. GCI Communications Corp. is building a cable to connect to the Alaska communities of Angoon, Hawk Inlet, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, and Wrangell with the existing Alaska United West system. The Southeast Alaska Fiber-Optic (“SEAK”) will consist
of three new undersea “wet” components: (1) SEAK will use two fiber pairs that currently terminate at a branching unit on the Alaska United West system and extend to Ketchikan via a new repeater segment of undersea cable. This segment will have an initial capacity of 10 Gbps and will be upgradeable in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design capacity of 640 Gbps–320 Gbps on the fiber pair connecting Ketchikan to Seward and 320 Gbps on the fiber pair connecting Ketchikan to Warrenton; (2) SEAK will connect Ketchikan to Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau via new festoon-style, un-repeatered segments of undersea cable. This segment will also have an initial capacity of 10 Gbps and will be upgradeable in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design capacity of 120 Gbps; and (3) SEAK will connect the splice point at Hawk Inlet, Angoon, and Sitka via a new segment of undersea cable with a single repeater at Angoon. This segment will also have an initial capacity of 2.5 Gbps and will be upgradeable in OC-48 and OC-192 increments, up to a design capacity of 120 Gbps. In another proposal to improve communications capability in Alaska, ACS Cable Systems, Inc. has received authority to construct a subsea cable to link Anchorage, Homer, Juneau, and Nikiski, Alaska and Florence, Oregon. The ACS system will consist of four segments: two primary submarine cable segments and two terrestrial segments. The first segment will consist of an un-repeatered eight (8) fiber pair submarine cable between Anchorage, Alaska and Nikiski, Alaska. The second segment will consist of a terrestrial cable connecting Nikiski to Homer, Alaska. The third segment will consist of a repeatered four (4) fiber pair submarine cable that extends from Homer, Alaska to Florence, Oregon. The fourth segment will 40