An update on

Transpacific cables

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America Online, Inc. Let’s keep it short, you know the standard stuff…..

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A

What happened?

•From To•monopoly free market•PTO owned private•members only IRU•WDM DWDM•coast to coast city to city•retail wholesale

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A

A little HistoryThe First cable to Asia, from the Red Sea to India was laid in 1859-1860 but never worked over its full length.

First trans-Pacific telegraph cable was completed in 1902 between the United States and New Zealand.

First Amplified telephone cable, TAT-1 was completed 1955.

After two decades, the first fiber optic cable across the Pacific became operational (TPC-3, in 1988) Soon afterwards it was connected to the Hawaii-4 & Guam-Philippines-Taiwan (GPT) cables, thus completing the 1st digital links across the Pacific.

ALCATEL OALC4 - 17mm Cable

Cables

State of the art cable ships

TSSL’s C.S. Charles Brown

Elements of a Submarine Cable System

Cable Station

Beach Manhole

Land Section

Repeater

Cable

Branching Unit

Network Management

Optical & Transmission Equipment

Power Feed Equipment

undersea cable burying, retrieval,

and repair operations equipment

TSSL’s SCARAB IV ROV

TSSL’s Pacific SCARAB I ROV

Repeaters

• Do not regenerate, amplify

• Erbium-doped fiber amplifier

• Well adapted to WDM

• Up to 8 fiber pairs

• Direct monitoring

3 m

Monitoring the Repeaters

HIGH LOSS LOOP-BACK MODULE

REPEATERSSPACING (d)

Special modulated signal sent from line is looped-back at 1st repeater and return in time T.Signal from 2nd repeater will return in time T+TSignal from 3rd repeater will return in time T+2TT= 2dn/c, where n=index of refraction and c=speed of light

Repeaters spacing

Typical restorable submarine cable system

LS

Subsea

LS

LS

LS PoP

PoP

PoP

PoP

Asia/PacBackhaul

US Backhaul

The WavelengtDivisionMultiplexing technology basics

The WDM technology basics

Single channel in a fiber

WDM is the technique for sending several channels at different colours through the same fibre

Multiple channels in a fiber

Generic DWDM Architecture

To lineSTM-N

From line

DMUX+ ChromaticDispersion

Compensator STM-N

OA OA

Digital SignalProcessingOR

RECEIVE

MuxOT

OA

TRANSMIT

Digital SignalProcessing

DWDM spectrum range

1.0

0.8

0.4

0.2

0.1

Los

s (d

B/K

m)

1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7

Wavelength (m)

Single mode fiber

1530 to 1565

0

80

160

240

320

400

480

10002000 30004000 50006000 70008000 900010000

1100012000

System Length (km)

Fib

er

pair

cap

acit

y (

Gb

it/s

)DWDM Technology:

Capacity Varies with Length:

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A

Recently Activated Cables

• China-US*

• PC – 1*

• SEA-ME-WE-3

• FLAG Europe-Asia Cable

Future Cables

• Japan-US

• Southern Cross

• OXYGEN

• Asia Pac Cable Network 2

• East Asia Cable

• North Asia Cable

• FLAG Pacific-1

China-US

US

Bandon, OR

San Luis Obispo, CA

CHINA

Chongming

Shantou

GUAM

80 Gbps / 2XSTM-2562.5 Gbps x 8 Wavelengths x 4 Fiber Pairs

JAPAN

Chikura

Okinawa

S. KOREA

Pusan

TAIWAN

Fangshan

RFCS Outlook: Active

Active

16,000 Route miles

Type: Consortium

PC - 1

US

Harbour Pointe, WA

JAPAN

Ajigaura

Initial 160 Gbps capacity, 2.5 Gbps (STM-16) x 8 Wavelengths x 4 fiber pairs(Upgradeable to 640 Gbps using DWDM technology)

Shima

Grover Beach, CA

No. Ring RFCS: In Service

So. Ring RFCS: November 2000Type: Private (Global Crossing)

640 Gbp/s SDH Ring Design

In Service

November 2000

12,600 Route miles

SEA-ME-WE 3

JAPAN

Okinawa

S. KOREA

Keoje

UK

CHINA

Shanghai

Shantou

TAIWAN

Taipei

Toucheng

Fangshan

HONG KONG

Deep Water Bay

PHILIPPINES

Batangas

VIET NAM

Danang

THAILAND

Satun

MALAYSIA

Mersing SINGAPORE

Tuss

Tungku

INDONESIA

Jakarta

Medan

INDIA

Cochin

Munbai

MYANMAR

Pyayyypon

PAKISTANOMAN

U.A.E.

DJIBOUTI

SAUDI ARABIA

TURKEY

CYPRUS

GREECE

FRANCE

PORTUGAL

MORACCO

ITALY

Penang

20 Gbps (STM-128) 2.5 Gbps x 4 Wavelengths x 2 Fiber PairsSubmarine Cable Network

Branch Unit

RFCS Outlook: Active Type: Consortium

EGYPT

Japan-US

JAPAN

Kita-Ibaraki

Maruyama

HAWAII

Makaha Beach, Oahu

US

Manchester, CA

Shima

Moro Bay / San Luis Obispo, CA

640 Gbp/s SDH Ring10 Gbps x16 Wavelengths x 4 Fiber Pairs

12,00 Route miles

RFS: So Ring 2/01

No Ring 5/01

Southern Cross

Branch Unit

USA

Nedonna, OR

San Luis Obispo, CA

HAWAII

Kahe Point

Spencer Beach

NEW ZEALAND

Takapuna

Whenuapal

AUSTRALIA

Belrose, Sidney

Rosebery, Sidney

FIJI

Suva

160 Gbp/s SDH Ring Design

80 Gbp/s SDH Ring Design

Backhaul & cable sys interface: STM-1

November 2000

November 2000

November 2000

January 2001

RFCS Outlook: November 2000

FLAG Pacific-1

RFCS Outlook: 2H02 Type: Private (FLAG Telecom)

JAPAN

Misaki

Chikura

HAWAII

Honolulu

US

Washington

ALASKA

Aleutians

CANADA

Vancouver Is.

Bay Area - North

Bay Area - South

Tokyo / Yokahama Loop

22,000 Route miles

Supplier is Alcatel

10 Gbps x 64 Wavelengths x 8 Fiber Pairs

Repeatered Repeatered

Repeatered

Repeatered

Repeatered

Vancouver / Seattle Loop

San Francisco / Los Angeles

Loop

S. Korea

Pusan

TAIWAN

Toucheua

MALAYSIA

Kuan Tan

JAPAN

Kitaibaraki

Chikura

CHINA

Shanghai

Shantou

SINGAPORE

Katoug

HONG KONG

LantauPHILIPINES

Batangas

2.56 Tbp/s SDH Ring Design

10 Gbps x 64 Wavelengths x 4 Fiber Pairs

ASIA PAC CABLE NETWORK 2___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CABLES FACTS SUMMARY

Cable System RFS Fiber Pair

Initial Wavelengths per Fiber Pair

Wavelengths per Fiber Pair

Gbps per Wavelength

Upgraded Gbps per

WavelengthTotal

CapacityFully Upgraded Total Capacity

APCN February-97 1 2 4 5 5 10 20

FLAG Europe-Asia November-97 2 2 2.5 2.5 10 10Guam-Philippines March-99 2 1 4 2.5 2.5 5 20

SEA-ME-WE-3 September-99 2 4 8 2.5 2.5 20 40Pacific Crossing - 1 December-99 4 2 16 2.5 10 20 640China-US CN January-00 4 8 2.5 2.5 80 80

Japan-US CN February-00 4 8 64 2.5 2.5 80 640

Southern Cross October-00 3 8 16 2.5 2.5 60 160

EAC December-00 4 2 64 10 10 80 2560

North Asian Cable June-01 4 8 64 10 10 320 2560

Australia - Japan July-01 2 4 32 10 10 80 640

SAT-3/WASC/SAFE October-01 2 8 16 2.5 2.5 40 80

805 7450

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A

CABLES PRICING MODELS

Up to spring 1998: Retail T1-E1, T3

1999: Wholesale T3/STM-1 available

everywhere (IRU or Capital Lease +

O&M)

2000: Wholesale STM-4c available

2002: Wavelength (2.5/10Gb) offering?

CABLES PRICES EXAMPLES

Cpacity between Tokyo and the West

Coast

Year data rate Monthly Lease IRU / Capital Lease

1997 E1 54,000$ n.a.

1998 DS3 540,000$ n.a.

1999 DS3 320,000$ n.a.2000 OC3 200,000$ 8,000,000$

CABLES PRICES SUMMARY

O&M Charges are

dropping

drastically

as well

STM-1 O&MCharges pa

1998 350,000$ 1999 250,000$ 2000 108,000$ 2001 62,500$ 2002 30,000$ 2003 15,000$

The Tug of War of the Cost of Cable

For suppliers: The first system to connect bandwidth-starved points may capture sales at a much higher price than when the rest of the bandwidth barons (private or consortium) join in.

For Buyers: The opposite strategy holds true: If you don’t like bandwidth prices now, wait a bit. They will likely change soon enough.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to:

Tyco Submarine System Genuity Global Crossing FLAG

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Introduction Technology New Cable Systems Costs Q&A