System Upgrades Edition

In This IssueAll Optical Submarine Network Upgrades

Upgrading Cables Systems More Possibilities That You Originally Think Of

Reach Reliability And Return On InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos To Optimal Subsea Architecture

66n o v

2012ISSn 1948-3031

voiceof the

Industry

11 Yearsof

Excellence

2

Statistics

Issue63Released

Issue64Released Issue

65Released

Issue2Released

Issue3Released

3

ISSN No 1948-3031

PUBLISHER Wayne NielsenMANAGING EDITOR Kevin G Summers

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stewart Ash James Barton Bertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier Stephen Jarvis Brian Lavalleacutee Pete LeHardy Vinay Rathore Dr Joerg Schwartz

Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine is published bimonthly by Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc and is an independent commercial publication serving as a freely accessible forum for professionals in industries connected with submarine optical fiber technologies and techniques Submarine Telecoms Forum may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the permission of the publishers

Liability while every care is taken in preparation of this publication the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein or any errors which may occur in advertising or editorial content or any consequence arising from any errors or omissions and the editor reserves the right to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for publication

Contributions are welcomed Please forward to the Managing Editor at editorsubtelforumcom

Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc21495 Ridgetop Circle Suite 201Sterling Virginia 20166 USAsubtelforumcom

Copyright copy 2012 Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc

November in America is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving It is also the month SubTel Forum

celebrates our anniversary of existence that now being 11 years going strong

When Ted and I established our little magazine in 2001 our hope was to get enough interest to keep it going for a while We had a list of contacts an AOL email address and a song in our heart the hardest part was fooling the email system to let us send out 250 or so at a time

When we had our first ldquopositiverdquo response we celebrated when we saw 1000 people download an issue we were ecstatic Little steps moving in a positive direction

In 2012 our 10th year of operation we saw some dramatic changes to the dynamics With the addition of the Cable Almanac and Industry Report we realized downloads in the thousands well above those typically seen In the Spring alone we watched as the Cable Almanac peaked above 125000 downloads ndash Wow As if the industry had embraced what we envisioned and it was humbling as well as electric for all of us

With 2013 beginning soon our 12th year we have a few enhancements to the SubTel

Forum brand which we will be rolling out during the course of the year and which we believe will further enhance your utility and enjoyment Wersquore going to kick it up a level or two and think you will like the developments And as always it will be done at no cost to our readers

We will do so with two key founding principles always in mind which annually I reaffirm to you our readers

raquoraquo That we will provide a wide range of ideas and issues

raquoraquo That we will seek to incite entertain and provoke in a positive manner

So herersquos to you our readers and supporters

Happy Anniversary and in the spirit of Thanksgiving thank you as always for honoring us with your interest

4

ExordiumWayne Nielsen

3

News Now 5

Notes on The Upgrade MarketStephen Jarvis

9

All Optical Submarine Network UpgradesBrian Lavalleacutee

14

Upgrading Cables SystemsMore Possibilities That You Originally Think ofBertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier amp Dr Joerg Schwartz

22

In This IssuePhoenix Participates In Underwater Search For Amelia Earhartrsquos PlanePete LeHardy

30

Reach Reliability And Return On InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos To Optimal Subsea ArchitectureVinay Rathore

33

Satellite Backhaul The Fibre AlternativeJames Barton

41

Back ReflectionStewart Ash

45

Conferences 49

Advertiser Index 50

CodaKevin G Summers

51

news now Alcatel mulling sale of submarine enterprise units-sources

American Samoa eyes second submarine fibre cable

APTelecom Appointed as SACS - South Atlantic Cable System (Angola - Brazil Cable) Pre-Sales Manager for International Network Development

Arctic Fibre Applies For Canadian Landing Licence

Conroy mulls Government-funded subsea fibre link

Cross River Fiber Partners With Telx For Network Access Services

Cross River Fiber Supports Dark Fiber Connectivity Within the Healthcare Vertical Extending Its New Jersey Backbone Reach By 50+ Miles

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority Deploys Infinera DTN-X Platform for 100G Mediterranean Subsea Network

eFive Telecoms Signs Up Undersea Cable Supplier

Emerald Networks Announces a Strategic Investment By Storage Engine Inc

Firms go through hell and high water in GBI Connects The Red Sea To Milan With Advanced 100G Technology From Xtera

Globe lays submarine cable to Boracay

Groups urge government to revise submarine cable

Huawei ZTE and the Slippery Slope of Excusing Protectionism on National Security Grounds

HYLAS 2 Gateway at Cyta Kim Dotcom to reboot NZ submarine cable and offer free broadband

ICPC Call For Papers

Lat Am submarine network upgrades to 40G

Mitsubishi Electric Upgrades IMEWE Submarine Cable System between India Middle East and Western Europe in Record Time

2

Statistics

Issue63Released

Issue64Released Issue

65Released

Issue2Released

Issue3Released

3

ISSN No 1948-3031

PUBLISHER Wayne NielsenMANAGING EDITOR Kevin G Summers

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stewart Ash James Barton Bertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier Stephen Jarvis Brian Lavalleacutee Pete LeHardy Vinay Rathore Dr Joerg Schwartz

Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine is published bimonthly by Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc and is an independent commercial publication serving as a freely accessible forum for professionals in industries connected with submarine optical fiber technologies and techniques Submarine Telecoms Forum may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the permission of the publishers

Liability while every care is taken in preparation of this publication the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein or any errors which may occur in advertising or editorial content or any consequence arising from any errors or omissions and the editor reserves the right to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for publication

Contributions are welcomed Please forward to the Managing Editor at editorsubtelforumcom

Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc21495 Ridgetop Circle Suite 201Sterling Virginia 20166 USAsubtelforumcom

Copyright copy 2012 Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc

November in America is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving It is also the month SubTel Forum

celebrates our anniversary of existence that now being 11 years going strong

When Ted and I established our little magazine in 2001 our hope was to get enough interest to keep it going for a while We had a list of contacts an AOL email address and a song in our heart the hardest part was fooling the email system to let us send out 250 or so at a time

When we had our first ldquopositiverdquo response we celebrated when we saw 1000 people download an issue we were ecstatic Little steps moving in a positive direction

In 2012 our 10th year of operation we saw some dramatic changes to the dynamics With the addition of the Cable Almanac and Industry Report we realized downloads in the thousands well above those typically seen In the Spring alone we watched as the Cable Almanac peaked above 125000 downloads ndash Wow As if the industry had embraced what we envisioned and it was humbling as well as electric for all of us

With 2013 beginning soon our 12th year we have a few enhancements to the SubTel

Forum brand which we will be rolling out during the course of the year and which we believe will further enhance your utility and enjoyment Wersquore going to kick it up a level or two and think you will like the developments And as always it will be done at no cost to our readers

We will do so with two key founding principles always in mind which annually I reaffirm to you our readers

raquoraquo That we will provide a wide range of ideas and issues

raquoraquo That we will seek to incite entertain and provoke in a positive manner

So herersquos to you our readers and supporters

Happy Anniversary and in the spirit of Thanksgiving thank you as always for honoring us with your interest

4

ExordiumWayne Nielsen

3

News Now 5

Notes on The Upgrade MarketStephen Jarvis

9

All Optical Submarine Network UpgradesBrian Lavalleacutee

14

Upgrading Cables SystemsMore Possibilities That You Originally Think ofBertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier amp Dr Joerg Schwartz

22

In This IssuePhoenix Participates In Underwater Search For Amelia Earhartrsquos PlanePete LeHardy

30

Reach Reliability And Return On InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos To Optimal Subsea ArchitectureVinay Rathore

33

Satellite Backhaul The Fibre AlternativeJames Barton

41

Back ReflectionStewart Ash

45

Conferences 49

Advertiser Index 50

CodaKevin G Summers

51

news now Alcatel mulling sale of submarine enterprise units-sources

American Samoa eyes second submarine fibre cable

APTelecom Appointed as SACS - South Atlantic Cable System (Angola - Brazil Cable) Pre-Sales Manager for International Network Development

Arctic Fibre Applies For Canadian Landing Licence

Conroy mulls Government-funded subsea fibre link

Cross River Fiber Partners With Telx For Network Access Services

Cross River Fiber Supports Dark Fiber Connectivity Within the Healthcare Vertical Extending Its New Jersey Backbone Reach By 50+ Miles

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority Deploys Infinera DTN-X Platform for 100G Mediterranean Subsea Network

eFive Telecoms Signs Up Undersea Cable Supplier

Emerald Networks Announces a Strategic Investment By Storage Engine Inc

Firms go through hell and high water in GBI Connects The Red Sea To Milan With Advanced 100G Technology From Xtera

Globe lays submarine cable to Boracay

Groups urge government to revise submarine cable

Huawei ZTE and the Slippery Slope of Excusing Protectionism on National Security Grounds

HYLAS 2 Gateway at Cyta Kim Dotcom to reboot NZ submarine cable and offer free broadband

ICPC Call For Papers

Lat Am submarine network upgrades to 40G

Mitsubishi Electric Upgrades IMEWE Submarine Cable System between India Middle East and Western Europe in Record Time

3

ISSN No 1948-3031

PUBLISHER Wayne NielsenMANAGING EDITOR Kevin G Summers

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stewart Ash James Barton Bertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier Stephen Jarvis Brian Lavalleacutee Pete LeHardy Vinay Rathore Dr Joerg Schwartz

Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine is published bimonthly by Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc and is an independent commercial publication serving as a freely accessible forum for professionals in industries connected with submarine optical fiber technologies and techniques Submarine Telecoms Forum may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the permission of the publishers

Liability while every care is taken in preparation of this publication the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein or any errors which may occur in advertising or editorial content or any consequence arising from any errors or omissions and the editor reserves the right to edit any advertising or editorial material submitted for publication

Contributions are welcomed Please forward to the Managing Editor at editorsubtelforumcom

Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc21495 Ridgetop Circle Suite 201Sterling Virginia 20166 USAsubtelforumcom

Copyright copy 2012 Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc

November in America is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving It is also the month SubTel Forum

celebrates our anniversary of existence that now being 11 years going strong

When Ted and I established our little magazine in 2001 our hope was to get enough interest to keep it going for a while We had a list of contacts an AOL email address and a song in our heart the hardest part was fooling the email system to let us send out 250 or so at a time

When we had our first ldquopositiverdquo response we celebrated when we saw 1000 people download an issue we were ecstatic Little steps moving in a positive direction

In 2012 our 10th year of operation we saw some dramatic changes to the dynamics With the addition of the Cable Almanac and Industry Report we realized downloads in the thousands well above those typically seen In the Spring alone we watched as the Cable Almanac peaked above 125000 downloads ndash Wow As if the industry had embraced what we envisioned and it was humbling as well as electric for all of us

With 2013 beginning soon our 12th year we have a few enhancements to the SubTel

Forum brand which we will be rolling out during the course of the year and which we believe will further enhance your utility and enjoyment Wersquore going to kick it up a level or two and think you will like the developments And as always it will be done at no cost to our readers

We will do so with two key founding principles always in mind which annually I reaffirm to you our readers

raquoraquo That we will provide a wide range of ideas and issues

raquoraquo That we will seek to incite entertain and provoke in a positive manner

So herersquos to you our readers and supporters

Happy Anniversary and in the spirit of Thanksgiving thank you as always for honoring us with your interest

4

ExordiumWayne Nielsen

3

News Now 5

Notes on The Upgrade MarketStephen Jarvis

9

All Optical Submarine Network UpgradesBrian Lavalleacutee

14

Upgrading Cables SystemsMore Possibilities That You Originally Think ofBertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier amp Dr Joerg Schwartz

22

In This IssuePhoenix Participates In Underwater Search For Amelia Earhartrsquos PlanePete LeHardy

30

Reach Reliability And Return On InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos To Optimal Subsea ArchitectureVinay Rathore

33

Satellite Backhaul The Fibre AlternativeJames Barton

41

Back ReflectionStewart Ash

45

Conferences 49

Advertiser Index 50

CodaKevin G Summers

51

news now Alcatel mulling sale of submarine enterprise units-sources

American Samoa eyes second submarine fibre cable

APTelecom Appointed as SACS - South Atlantic Cable System (Angola - Brazil Cable) Pre-Sales Manager for International Network Development

Arctic Fibre Applies For Canadian Landing Licence

Conroy mulls Government-funded subsea fibre link

Cross River Fiber Partners With Telx For Network Access Services

Cross River Fiber Supports Dark Fiber Connectivity Within the Healthcare Vertical Extending Its New Jersey Backbone Reach By 50+ Miles

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority Deploys Infinera DTN-X Platform for 100G Mediterranean Subsea Network

eFive Telecoms Signs Up Undersea Cable Supplier

Emerald Networks Announces a Strategic Investment By Storage Engine Inc

Firms go through hell and high water in GBI Connects The Red Sea To Milan With Advanced 100G Technology From Xtera

Globe lays submarine cable to Boracay

Groups urge government to revise submarine cable

Huawei ZTE and the Slippery Slope of Excusing Protectionism on National Security Grounds

HYLAS 2 Gateway at Cyta Kim Dotcom to reboot NZ submarine cable and offer free broadband

ICPC Call For Papers

Lat Am submarine network upgrades to 40G

Mitsubishi Electric Upgrades IMEWE Submarine Cable System between India Middle East and Western Europe in Record Time

4

ExordiumWayne Nielsen

3

News Now 5

Notes on The Upgrade MarketStephen Jarvis

9

All Optical Submarine Network UpgradesBrian Lavalleacutee

14

Upgrading Cables SystemsMore Possibilities That You Originally Think ofBertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier amp Dr Joerg Schwartz

22

In This IssuePhoenix Participates In Underwater Search For Amelia Earhartrsquos PlanePete LeHardy

30

Reach Reliability And Return On InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos To Optimal Subsea ArchitectureVinay Rathore

33

Satellite Backhaul The Fibre AlternativeJames Barton

41

Back ReflectionStewart Ash

45

Conferences 49

Advertiser Index 50

CodaKevin G Summers

51

news now Alcatel mulling sale of submarine enterprise units-sources

American Samoa eyes second submarine fibre cable

APTelecom Appointed as SACS - South Atlantic Cable System (Angola - Brazil Cable) Pre-Sales Manager for International Network Development

Arctic Fibre Applies For Canadian Landing Licence

Conroy mulls Government-funded subsea fibre link

Cross River Fiber Partners With Telx For Network Access Services

Cross River Fiber Supports Dark Fiber Connectivity Within the Healthcare Vertical Extending Its New Jersey Backbone Reach By 50+ Miles

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority Deploys Infinera DTN-X Platform for 100G Mediterranean Subsea Network

eFive Telecoms Signs Up Undersea Cable Supplier

Emerald Networks Announces a Strategic Investment By Storage Engine Inc

Firms go through hell and high water in GBI Connects The Red Sea To Milan With Advanced 100G Technology From Xtera

Globe lays submarine cable to Boracay

Groups urge government to revise submarine cable

Huawei ZTE and the Slippery Slope of Excusing Protectionism on National Security Grounds

HYLAS 2 Gateway at Cyta Kim Dotcom to reboot NZ submarine cable and offer free broadband

ICPC Call For Papers

Lat Am submarine network upgrades to 40G

Mitsubishi Electric Upgrades IMEWE Submarine Cable System between India Middle East and Western Europe in Record Time

news now Alcatel mulling sale of submarine enterprise units-sources

American Samoa eyes second submarine fibre cable

APTelecom Appointed as SACS - South Atlantic Cable System (Angola - Brazil Cable) Pre-Sales Manager for International Network Development

Arctic Fibre Applies For Canadian Landing Licence

Conroy mulls Government-funded subsea fibre link

Cross River Fiber Partners With Telx For Network Access Services

Cross River Fiber Supports Dark Fiber Connectivity Within the Healthcare Vertical Extending Its New Jersey Backbone Reach By 50+ Miles

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority Deploys Infinera DTN-X Platform for 100G Mediterranean Subsea Network

eFive Telecoms Signs Up Undersea Cable Supplier

Emerald Networks Announces a Strategic Investment By Storage Engine Inc

Firms go through hell and high water in GBI Connects The Red Sea To Milan With Advanced 100G Technology From Xtera

Globe lays submarine cable to Boracay

Groups urge government to revise submarine cable

Huawei ZTE and the Slippery Slope of Excusing Protectionism on National Security Grounds

HYLAS 2 Gateway at Cyta Kim Dotcom to reboot NZ submarine cable and offer free broadband

ICPC Call For Papers

Lat Am submarine network upgrades to 40G

Mitsubishi Electric Upgrades IMEWE Submarine Cable System between India Middle East and Western Europe in Record Time

MTN Announces Commercial LTE Plans

MTN to bring LTE to 3 SA cities

Namibia Titanic Battle Looming in Telecom Sector

NBN to build undersea cable to US if prices don NTC plans new submarine cable

Prysmian SpA Prysmian to develop first-ever high-voltage submarine power link in Turkey to connect Asia and Europe across the Dardanelles strait

Radius Oceanic Communications and Cyta announce Eastern Mediterranean cooperation through the POSEIDON System

Reliance Globalcom may acquire optical network gear from US company Ciena

Sea Fibre Networks Launch the Staffordshire Gateway

Seaborn Networks signs contract with Alcatel-Lucent to build US-Brazil submarine cable network

Shrinking Arctic ice and a golden fibre-optic opportunity

Silent Fibre-optic War Rages

Slattery SMD and BORD Sign Joint Venture

Submarine Cable Almanac - Issue 4

Submarine cable outage hits Kiwi internet

SubOptic 2013 Call for Papers 164 Submissions Received

SubOptic 2013 Early Bird Registration Now Available

T-Mobile New CEO Legere Faces Promising Problems

Tata Communications appoints Rangu Salgame as Chief Executive Officer of Growth Ventures

Telefonica selects Infinera DTN-X platform for 100G SAm-1 submarine cable upgrade

The 2012 Presidential Election and Its Future Impact on Telecommunications and Media Policy

TRAI to specify charges for Cable Landing Stations

Undersea cable support

Vietnam telcos to join in Asian undersea Internet cable project

Vodafone Sees 500 Million Pounds in Costs From CampW Deal

WARCIP Updates on ACE Fibre Optic Project

Zanzibar Gets 100 MW Cable Link To Mainland

7

2003 20052006

20072008

2009 2010 2012

2002

2004

Submarine Telecoms Industry Calendar

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Main International Submarine Cables

wwwsubtelforumcom

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T Soja amp Associates IncThe Leader in Global Telecom Market Analysis

ASEAN (BRUNEI - MALAYSIA - PHILIPPINES)ASEAN (MALAYSIA - THAILAND)ASEAN (SINGAPORE - BRUNEI)ASIA - AMERICA NETWORK (AAN)BAHAMAS-2BALTIC CABLE SYSTEM E-W (SWEDEN - LITHUANIA)BALTIC CABLE SYSTEM North I (SWEDEN - FINLAND)BERYTAR (BEIRUT - SAIDA)BERYTAR (LEBANON - SYRIA)BERYTAR (TRIPOLI - BEIRUT)BOTHNIA (SWEDEN - FINLAND)BRITISH TELECOM - TELECOM EIREANN-1CELTICCIRCE - (LONDON-AMSTERDAM)CIRCE - (LONDON-PARIS)CONCERTO1CROATIA - ITALY-1CROATIA DOMESTIC (RIJEKA - ZADAR - SPLIT)Danica North SouthDENMARK - GERMANY-1 (ESBJERG - DUNE)DENMARK - GERMANY-2DENMARK - NORWAY-5

DENMARK - NORWAY-6DENMARK - POLAND-2DENMARK - SWEDEN-1DENMARK - SWEDEN-15DENMARK - SWEDEN-16DENMARK - SWEDEN-18EAST ASIA CROSSING (EAC) - PHASE 2EAST ASIA CROSSING (EAC) - PHASE 1ESAT IESAT IIEUROTUNNELFCI -ONEFINLAND - ESTONIA (SF-ES 2)FINLAND - SWEDEN (SF-S 4)FINLAND - SWEDEN (SF-S 5)GERMANY - SWEDEN-4GERMANY - SWEDEN-5GREECE - MONTENEGROHERMES-1 (UK - BELGIUM)HERMES-2 (UK - NETHERLANDS)Hong Kong - Philippines - Taiwan Cable System (HPT)HONG KONG - JAPAN - KOREA (H-J-K)

HONTAI-2IBERIAN FESTOON (VIGO - PORTO)IBERIAN FESTOON (FARO - HUELVA)ITALY - LIBYAITALY - MALTAITALY - TUNISIA-1KATTEGAT-1MALAYSIA THAILAND EASTMALAYSIA THAILAND WESTMED Nautilus 1 (MN1)North Asia Cable SystemNorSea Com-1PANDAN - PULAU BUKOMPAN EUROPEAN CROSSINGPAN EUROPEAN CROSSING - IRISH RINGPANGEA-1 - Baltic RingPANGEA-1 - North Sea (South)REMBRANDTBALTIC CABLE SYSTEM North II (Finland - Russia)SEACN (South East Asia Cable Network)SEACN (South East Asia Cable Network)Sea-Van One

SPAIN - MOROCCOSWEDEN - FINLAND (TurkuKista) (FINNET)SWEDEN - FINLAND (UmeaVaasa) (FINNET)TAINO - CARIBTangerine - (UK - BELGIUM)TASMAN-3THAILAND - VIETNAM - HONG KONG (T-V-H)TRANS - CASPIAN LINK (TCL)TyCom Global Network - BalticTyCom Global Network - Eastern MedTyCom Global Network - Northern EuropeTyCom Global Network - Western EuropeTyCom Global Network - Western MedUAE - IRANUK - BELGIUM-5UK - BELGIUM-6UK - FRANCE-3UK - FRANCE-4UK - FRANCE-5UK - GERMANY-5UK - NETHERLANDS-12UK - NETHERLANDS-14

For reasons of clarity and scale the following systems do not appear on this map

FORUMaSubm r n i e

Telecoms

1

An international forum for the expression of ideas andopinions pertaining to the submarine telecom industry 4th Quarter 2001

13

2001

2011

2004

Submarine Cable MapReleased

IndustryCalendarReleased

SubTel ForumIssue 1Published

NewsNowRSS FeedLaunched

Industrys First Podcast

Released to iTunes

Submarine Cable Almanac Released

Submarine Cable Industry Report

Released

11 Years of Excellence

8

MAR MAYJUN

JULAUG

SEP OCT DEC

FEB

JAN

NOV

APR

Issue 67Global Outlook

STF TodayPTC

Issue 69Financeamp Legal

Issue 70Subsea

Capacity

Issue 71Regional Systems

Issue 72Offshore Energy

Issue 73System

UpgradesIssue 68SubOpticPreview

Submarine TelecomsIndustry Calendar

Submarine TelecomsIndustryReport

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 5

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 6

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 7

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 8

2013 Release Timeline

Voiceof the

Industry

Submarine Cable Map

STF TodaySubOptic

STF TodayICPC

STF TodaySubmarine

Networks World

STF TodaySubmarine Cable Forum

STF TodayOilComm

9

notes on The Upgrade Market

Stephen Jarvis

10

The ongoing march of technology has always been an important part of the submarine cable industry When

pertinent technology becomes available it redefines many different aspects of the industry Possibly the most important of which has been the creation of optical cable which expectations of available capacity

One of the most recent technologies that have changed not only the equipment used but the way business is done has been capacity upgrades For the first time systems can be improved either to meet their full design capacity or in the

case with newer optical systems beyond capacity This is opposed to completely laying new cable with better technology to replace the old model

The use of upgrades to improve a system has become growingly popular This has given rise to a number of companies that either can or even specialize in providing upgrades One such company is Alcatel-Lucent

ldquoWersquove sold upgrades since the optical erardquo said Norma Spruce ASN Marcom Director She explained that since optical

became available roughly 20 years ago they had dealt in a few forms of upgrades

It wasnrsquot until 2009 however that the newest kind of upgrade became available according to Olivier Courtois Alcatel-Lucent system product line manager This is thanks to developments in coherent detection which has allowed possible upgrades to go up to or beyond 100 gigabits It isnrsquot always easy though

ldquoYou can squeeze more out of a system designrdquo said Spruce ldquoBut only if you know what yoursquore doingrdquo The process

As observed by a number of publications and Press Releases the number of cable systems that are being upgraded is clearly on the rise One of the major factors contributing to the new popularity of upgrading an older system is the low price point Rather than go through the ordeal of implementing a new system owners are choosing to get a few more years of life out of their already existing systems with an upgrade

11

of increasing capacity can change from system to system The age design and a number of other factors dictate how much of an increase how expensive it may be or even if it can be done at all Sometimes nothing can be done but increase to its ultimate capacity as dictated by the design

The effect of upgrades on the market is an even more far reaching issue In the lasting economic difficulty of the last five years a more cost effective option that completely replacing the cable of a city to increase capacity opens more than a few doors It allows for a new specialized

market It creates competition among system suppliers with this new market for the repeat business with owners It even creates possibilities for owners to request designs that plan future upgrades into them

The new options and facets provided by this new market have become increasingly important The submarine cable industry like so many others is highly dependent on growth System suppliers in particular are threatened when there arenrsquot new systems being regularly created The movement in the industry created by upgrades allows

for money to be made that otherwise wouldnrsquot be

New technology can always have surprising effects and always build on each other 20 years ago companies began laying optic cable creating new possibilities for capacity and changing the market in doing so Now the growth of the relatively new upgrade market has changed the game again giving cost effective alternatives for owners It can only be wondered what next big shift will be thanks to this one

As the popularity of upgrading systems jumps and the demand for capacity increases naturally the market will respond with improved and cheaper technology In 2009 the upgrades seen were majorly 10G upgrades whereas now in 2012 you will find that 100G is the new norm As the upgrade market heats up competition will drive cheaper and faster upgrade technology

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

8

MAR MAYJUN

JULAUG

SEP OCT DEC

FEB

JAN

NOV

APR

Issue 67Global Outlook

STF TodayPTC

Issue 69Financeamp Legal

Issue 70Subsea

Capacity

Issue 71Regional Systems

Issue 72Offshore Energy

Issue 73System

UpgradesIssue 68SubOpticPreview

Submarine TelecomsIndustry Calendar

Submarine TelecomsIndustryReport

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 5

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 6

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 7

Submarine Cable

Almanac Issue 8

2013 Release Timeline

Voiceof the

Industry

Submarine Cable Map

STF TodaySubOptic

STF TodayICPC

STF TodaySubmarine

Networks World

STF TodaySubmarine Cable Forum

STF TodayOilComm

9

notes on The Upgrade Market

Stephen Jarvis

10

The ongoing march of technology has always been an important part of the submarine cable industry When

pertinent technology becomes available it redefines many different aspects of the industry Possibly the most important of which has been the creation of optical cable which expectations of available capacity

One of the most recent technologies that have changed not only the equipment used but the way business is done has been capacity upgrades For the first time systems can be improved either to meet their full design capacity or in the

case with newer optical systems beyond capacity This is opposed to completely laying new cable with better technology to replace the old model

The use of upgrades to improve a system has become growingly popular This has given rise to a number of companies that either can or even specialize in providing upgrades One such company is Alcatel-Lucent

ldquoWersquove sold upgrades since the optical erardquo said Norma Spruce ASN Marcom Director She explained that since optical

became available roughly 20 years ago they had dealt in a few forms of upgrades

It wasnrsquot until 2009 however that the newest kind of upgrade became available according to Olivier Courtois Alcatel-Lucent system product line manager This is thanks to developments in coherent detection which has allowed possible upgrades to go up to or beyond 100 gigabits It isnrsquot always easy though

ldquoYou can squeeze more out of a system designrdquo said Spruce ldquoBut only if you know what yoursquore doingrdquo The process

As observed by a number of publications and Press Releases the number of cable systems that are being upgraded is clearly on the rise One of the major factors contributing to the new popularity of upgrading an older system is the low price point Rather than go through the ordeal of implementing a new system owners are choosing to get a few more years of life out of their already existing systems with an upgrade

11

of increasing capacity can change from system to system The age design and a number of other factors dictate how much of an increase how expensive it may be or even if it can be done at all Sometimes nothing can be done but increase to its ultimate capacity as dictated by the design

The effect of upgrades on the market is an even more far reaching issue In the lasting economic difficulty of the last five years a more cost effective option that completely replacing the cable of a city to increase capacity opens more than a few doors It allows for a new specialized

market It creates competition among system suppliers with this new market for the repeat business with owners It even creates possibilities for owners to request designs that plan future upgrades into them

The new options and facets provided by this new market have become increasingly important The submarine cable industry like so many others is highly dependent on growth System suppliers in particular are threatened when there arenrsquot new systems being regularly created The movement in the industry created by upgrades allows

for money to be made that otherwise wouldnrsquot be

New technology can always have surprising effects and always build on each other 20 years ago companies began laying optic cable creating new possibilities for capacity and changing the market in doing so Now the growth of the relatively new upgrade market has changed the game again giving cost effective alternatives for owners It can only be wondered what next big shift will be thanks to this one

As the popularity of upgrading systems jumps and the demand for capacity increases naturally the market will respond with improved and cheaper technology In 2009 the upgrades seen were majorly 10G upgrades whereas now in 2012 you will find that 100G is the new norm As the upgrade market heats up competition will drive cheaper and faster upgrade technology

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

9

notes on The Upgrade Market

Stephen Jarvis

10

The ongoing march of technology has always been an important part of the submarine cable industry When

pertinent technology becomes available it redefines many different aspects of the industry Possibly the most important of which has been the creation of optical cable which expectations of available capacity

One of the most recent technologies that have changed not only the equipment used but the way business is done has been capacity upgrades For the first time systems can be improved either to meet their full design capacity or in the

case with newer optical systems beyond capacity This is opposed to completely laying new cable with better technology to replace the old model

The use of upgrades to improve a system has become growingly popular This has given rise to a number of companies that either can or even specialize in providing upgrades One such company is Alcatel-Lucent

ldquoWersquove sold upgrades since the optical erardquo said Norma Spruce ASN Marcom Director She explained that since optical

became available roughly 20 years ago they had dealt in a few forms of upgrades

It wasnrsquot until 2009 however that the newest kind of upgrade became available according to Olivier Courtois Alcatel-Lucent system product line manager This is thanks to developments in coherent detection which has allowed possible upgrades to go up to or beyond 100 gigabits It isnrsquot always easy though

ldquoYou can squeeze more out of a system designrdquo said Spruce ldquoBut only if you know what yoursquore doingrdquo The process

As observed by a number of publications and Press Releases the number of cable systems that are being upgraded is clearly on the rise One of the major factors contributing to the new popularity of upgrading an older system is the low price point Rather than go through the ordeal of implementing a new system owners are choosing to get a few more years of life out of their already existing systems with an upgrade

11

of increasing capacity can change from system to system The age design and a number of other factors dictate how much of an increase how expensive it may be or even if it can be done at all Sometimes nothing can be done but increase to its ultimate capacity as dictated by the design

The effect of upgrades on the market is an even more far reaching issue In the lasting economic difficulty of the last five years a more cost effective option that completely replacing the cable of a city to increase capacity opens more than a few doors It allows for a new specialized

market It creates competition among system suppliers with this new market for the repeat business with owners It even creates possibilities for owners to request designs that plan future upgrades into them

The new options and facets provided by this new market have become increasingly important The submarine cable industry like so many others is highly dependent on growth System suppliers in particular are threatened when there arenrsquot new systems being regularly created The movement in the industry created by upgrades allows

for money to be made that otherwise wouldnrsquot be

New technology can always have surprising effects and always build on each other 20 years ago companies began laying optic cable creating new possibilities for capacity and changing the market in doing so Now the growth of the relatively new upgrade market has changed the game again giving cost effective alternatives for owners It can only be wondered what next big shift will be thanks to this one

As the popularity of upgrading systems jumps and the demand for capacity increases naturally the market will respond with improved and cheaper technology In 2009 the upgrades seen were majorly 10G upgrades whereas now in 2012 you will find that 100G is the new norm As the upgrade market heats up competition will drive cheaper and faster upgrade technology

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

10

The ongoing march of technology has always been an important part of the submarine cable industry When

pertinent technology becomes available it redefines many different aspects of the industry Possibly the most important of which has been the creation of optical cable which expectations of available capacity

One of the most recent technologies that have changed not only the equipment used but the way business is done has been capacity upgrades For the first time systems can be improved either to meet their full design capacity or in the

case with newer optical systems beyond capacity This is opposed to completely laying new cable with better technology to replace the old model

The use of upgrades to improve a system has become growingly popular This has given rise to a number of companies that either can or even specialize in providing upgrades One such company is Alcatel-Lucent

ldquoWersquove sold upgrades since the optical erardquo said Norma Spruce ASN Marcom Director She explained that since optical

became available roughly 20 years ago they had dealt in a few forms of upgrades

It wasnrsquot until 2009 however that the newest kind of upgrade became available according to Olivier Courtois Alcatel-Lucent system product line manager This is thanks to developments in coherent detection which has allowed possible upgrades to go up to or beyond 100 gigabits It isnrsquot always easy though

ldquoYou can squeeze more out of a system designrdquo said Spruce ldquoBut only if you know what yoursquore doingrdquo The process

As observed by a number of publications and Press Releases the number of cable systems that are being upgraded is clearly on the rise One of the major factors contributing to the new popularity of upgrading an older system is the low price point Rather than go through the ordeal of implementing a new system owners are choosing to get a few more years of life out of their already existing systems with an upgrade

11

of increasing capacity can change from system to system The age design and a number of other factors dictate how much of an increase how expensive it may be or even if it can be done at all Sometimes nothing can be done but increase to its ultimate capacity as dictated by the design

The effect of upgrades on the market is an even more far reaching issue In the lasting economic difficulty of the last five years a more cost effective option that completely replacing the cable of a city to increase capacity opens more than a few doors It allows for a new specialized

market It creates competition among system suppliers with this new market for the repeat business with owners It even creates possibilities for owners to request designs that plan future upgrades into them

The new options and facets provided by this new market have become increasingly important The submarine cable industry like so many others is highly dependent on growth System suppliers in particular are threatened when there arenrsquot new systems being regularly created The movement in the industry created by upgrades allows

for money to be made that otherwise wouldnrsquot be

New technology can always have surprising effects and always build on each other 20 years ago companies began laying optic cable creating new possibilities for capacity and changing the market in doing so Now the growth of the relatively new upgrade market has changed the game again giving cost effective alternatives for owners It can only be wondered what next big shift will be thanks to this one

As the popularity of upgrading systems jumps and the demand for capacity increases naturally the market will respond with improved and cheaper technology In 2009 the upgrades seen were majorly 10G upgrades whereas now in 2012 you will find that 100G is the new norm As the upgrade market heats up competition will drive cheaper and faster upgrade technology

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

11

of increasing capacity can change from system to system The age design and a number of other factors dictate how much of an increase how expensive it may be or even if it can be done at all Sometimes nothing can be done but increase to its ultimate capacity as dictated by the design

The effect of upgrades on the market is an even more far reaching issue In the lasting economic difficulty of the last five years a more cost effective option that completely replacing the cable of a city to increase capacity opens more than a few doors It allows for a new specialized

market It creates competition among system suppliers with this new market for the repeat business with owners It even creates possibilities for owners to request designs that plan future upgrades into them

The new options and facets provided by this new market have become increasingly important The submarine cable industry like so many others is highly dependent on growth System suppliers in particular are threatened when there arenrsquot new systems being regularly created The movement in the industry created by upgrades allows

for money to be made that otherwise wouldnrsquot be

New technology can always have surprising effects and always build on each other 20 years ago companies began laying optic cable creating new possibilities for capacity and changing the market in doing so Now the growth of the relatively new upgrade market has changed the game again giving cost effective alternatives for owners It can only be wondered what next big shift will be thanks to this one

As the popularity of upgrading systems jumps and the demand for capacity increases naturally the market will respond with improved and cheaper technology In 2009 the upgrades seen were majorly 10G upgrades whereas now in 2012 you will find that 100G is the new norm As the upgrade market heats up competition will drive cheaper and faster upgrade technology

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

12

Upgrades may utilize 10Gbs 40Gbs or 100Gbs transmission technology 10Gbs transponders may be used when low cost or rapid deployment is required typically from 1 to 1 frac12 times the original design capacity may be achieved for example a system designed for 32 waves per fiber pair might be expanded to 40 or 48 waves 40Gbs upgrades have been offered for several years but are rapidly being overtaken by 100Gbs upgrades 40Gbs upgrades may deliver 2 to 2 frac12 times the original design capacity it is not usually possible to replace each 10Gbs channel with a 40Gbs channel thus the improvement factor is less than 4 100Gbs upgrades have recently been announced with the potential to achieve 4 times the original design capacity on some wet plant

Owners may choose from these solutions to meet their specific needs maximizing capacity rapid deployment lowest cost or some combination The exact results depend on amplifier bandwidth equalization the chromatic dispersion map and other factors A typical upgrade will involve tests to characterize a fiber pair followed by trials of the equipment before a supplier commitment is made Many upgrade designs now permit new channels to be added alongside existing channels avoiding the need to remove existing terminal equipment from service

(Excerpts from Submarine Cable Industry Report Issue 1 July 2012)

With new and better technology competition will begin creeping in from unexpected places Over the last few years the upgrade market has almost wholly been dominated by Infinera and Xtera Traditionally this industry is dominated by installers such as TE Subcom and Alcatel Lucent however this new emerging market seems to be almost completely driven by faces relatively new to the submarine world

Stephen Jarvis is a freelance writer in the Washington DC area He has published articles and done editorial work with several publications

including Submarine Telecoms Forum Also he has been a speaker for the Popular Culture Association American Culture Association National Conference

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

submarine cable

ALMAnACISSUE 4

AvAILABLE noWCLICK

HERE To DoWnLoAD

14

All optical Submarine network Upgrades

Brian Lavalleacutee

15

Although demand for inter-continental bandwidth continues to grow at a significant rate

worldwide intensified competition has resulted in significant price erosion This means global network operators must find ways to cost-effectively upgrade their existing wet plants while cost-reducing them at the same time Increasing channel rates from 10 Gbs to 40 Gbs and 100 Gbs using coherent-based transmission technology is now the preferred method for increasing submarine network capacity New submarine cables will still be deployed for other reasons though such as increasing route diversity or providing ultra low latency connectivity Upgrading existing submarine cables via channel upgrades eliminates or at least defers the substantial capital investment and associated risks related to time-consuming new cable builds Although increasing channel rates does offer economies of scale to lower the cost per transported bit there are other innovative options available to global network designers to lower network costs even further such as ROADMs and ldquooptical bypassrdquo configurations

Coherent-Based Transmission Technology

For decades optical transmission technologies deployed over terrestrial networks were incapable of achieving distances associated with transoceanic networks This meant submarine cable operators had little choice but to deploy costly submarine network-specific

transmission technologies over proprietary wet plants The advent of coherent-based transmission technology initially targeted for long distance terrestrial networks has eliminated the need to deploy expensive submarine network-specific transponders Each submarine cable system was custom-built with design goals to maximize performance and reach This led to each submarine cable system inheriting a unique optical performance ldquopersonalityrdquo which greatly differed from terrestrial optical line systems

The same coherent-based transmission technology can now be deployed overland and undersea even over very long transoceanic routes Although each submarine cable system has its own unique performance personality coherent-based transmission technology can still be used albeit to varying degrees which is further testament to the flexibility and robustness of this revolutionary technology The industry has adopted coherent-based transmission technology as the de facto

standard for upgrading submarine and terrestrial network capacities A complimentary optical network technology initially developed for terrestrial networks can also be leveraged

Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM)

The ROADM is another optical technology initially developed for terrestrial networks that has found its way into the Cable Landing Station (CLS) As wholesaling wavelengths increasingly becomes the industry practice for bandwidth purchases over global networks keeping traffic within the optical domain from Point of Presence (PoP) to PoP meaning no optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversion stages enabled far more scalable cost-effective and simpler networks to own and operate making it a logical design choice for network planners where possible Wavelengths should never be converted back into the electrical domain unless sub-wavelength access is required such as for

Figure 1 Traditional Cable Landing Station Network Design

16

grooming andor switching purposes or when limited by available link budgets

Avoiding OEO stages minimizes latency powerspace requirements network complexity and most importantly network costs When wavelengths are the wholesale ldquocurrencyrdquo of the global network they should only be converted back into the electrical domain at the very end points of the network link which is typically the inland PoP such as a data center ROADMs allow wavelengths coming from the wet plant into the CLS to be switched while remaining in the optical domain to the inland PoP or forwarded to the next CLS as ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo Since the wavelengths remain in the optical domain for the duration of their travel and utilize coherent-based optical transmission technology they are inherently more secure as they eliminate vulnerable OEO stages

Transmission and Switching Technology Convergence

Over time connecting standards-based terrestrial networks to proprietary submarine networks led to a distinct network demarcation point as shown in Figure 1 which is typically located in the CLS Although having served the telecom industry well for decades this demarcation point can be significantly optimized by leveraging the latest in technology convergence which until recently was simply not possible SDH is the standard of choice in the worldrsquos submarine

networks as well as most of the worldrsquos terrestrial networks with the notable exception of the United States which uses SONET This means submarine networks that interconnect SONET-based networks to SDH-based networks require SDHSONET protocol conversion meaning OEO stages are required Optical Transport Network (OTN) is a global standard that can be used over submarine and terrestrial networks to replace SONET and SDH to help erase the need for the traditional submarine-terrestrial demarcation point also referred to as the ldquoborderrdquo between these two networks Combining coherent-based transmission with OTN allows global network operators to further simplify PoP-to-PoP network designs which significantly reduces costs

Optical Bypass

The increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology allows operators to combine their submarine network segments along with their terrestrial backhaul network segments from into a single all-optical route from PoP-to-PoP This leads to significantly simplified network designs as shown in Figure 2 which illustrates optimized terrestrial

backhaul network segments from CLS to inland PoP through the elimination of Terrestrial Line Terminating Equipment (TLTE) transponders that traditionally performed signal regeneration as illustrated in Figure 1 ROADMs used in this ldquooptical bypassrdquo configuration allow wavelengths that are coming from the wet plant to be switched while remaining in the optical domain back to the inland PoP

The submarine networking community is understandably a very conservative group considering their unique and hostile operating environment coupled with carrying nearly 100 of the worldrsquos inter-continental electronic communications traffic Fortunately ldquooptical bypassrdquo is not new as it leverages the same technology successfully deployed over terrestrial metro and core networks for close to a decade and has proven itself in the real world as a highly reliable solution The minimization of OEO stages in an end-to-end network also increases reliability

Express Wavelengths

Submarine networks incorporating ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo also benefit from optical bypass network designs as

Figure 2 All-Optical Cable Landing Station Network Design

17

shown in Figure 3 Express wavelength transponder pairs in back-to-back configurations previously required for signal regeneration to be able to meet reach targets are eliminated This is due to coherent-based transmission technology offering increased reach and being compatible with both wet and dry plants Since a ROADM is by definition reconfigurable wavelengths can now be dropped andor expressed from any remote location such as the Network Operations Center (NOC) Given the long distances associated with global networks eliminating the need to send out trained personnel to far off remote locations to manually reconfigure wavelengths using error-prone manual methods such is the case when using patch panels is a highly coveted benefit of ROADMs

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Networks

Typical PoP-to-PoP network links that traverse a submarine network have

terrestrial backhaul network segments at each end to connect the CLS to the inland PoP As a result of the increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology wavelengths originating in

one PoP can remain in the optical domain all the way to the inland PoP at the other end of the link Switching wavelengths to the inland PoP is performed by a ROADM as shown in Figure 3 This means terrestrial backhaul transponders are eliminated in most cases

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection

For terrestrial backhaul networks with alternative routes available for protection purposes additional Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) the building blocks of ROADMs can be added to accomplish network protection while still remaining in the all optical domain as shown in Figure 5 This ensures that unnecessary OEO Figure 3 Express Wavelengths and Optical Bypass

Figure 4 Terrestrial Backhaul and Optical Bypass

18

stages are avoided on protected terrestrial backhaul routes As most network traffic is packet-based coupled with the emergence of 100 Gbs ports on core routersswitches keeping traffic in the optical domain from inland data center to inland data center whenever and wherever possible is a most efficient transport network design that is secure offers lower latency and is more reliable all of which are critical to cloud-based service offerings

The All-Optical Cable Landing Station

Maintaining data transport within the optical domain from end-to-end whenever or wherever possible is the goal of clever network operators wanting the most efficient and cost-effective network

possible This is not a new goal however as it has been sought after in terrestrial networks for over a decade What has changed in recent years is that optical transmission and switching technologies finally exist that allows this network design goal to finally be achieved for the first time over submarine networks A significant benefit of remaining in the optical domain from end-to-end is that latency a key design requirement in most networks today is significantly lowered since latency incurred over multiple unnecessary OEO stages is eliminated The all-optical CLS is evidence that the distinction between what is a submarine network and a terrestrial network is rapidly blurring

Sea Change in Global Network Designs

The all-optical CLS fully leverages the convergence of optical networking technologies As bandwidth demand growth and price erosion continues for the foreseeable network operators must challenge their current mindset related to a global network consisting of distinct individual submarine and terrestrial network segments if they are to fully leverage technology convergence and the significant benefits afforded Just as global networks have erased international political borders the all-optical cable landing station eliminates the border between submarine and terrestrial networks which benefits end users and network operators alike

Brian Lavalleacutee is the Director responsible for Global Network Solutions at Ciena

Figure 5 All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection and Optical Bypass

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

15

Although demand for inter-continental bandwidth continues to grow at a significant rate

worldwide intensified competition has resulted in significant price erosion This means global network operators must find ways to cost-effectively upgrade their existing wet plants while cost-reducing them at the same time Increasing channel rates from 10 Gbs to 40 Gbs and 100 Gbs using coherent-based transmission technology is now the preferred method for increasing submarine network capacity New submarine cables will still be deployed for other reasons though such as increasing route diversity or providing ultra low latency connectivity Upgrading existing submarine cables via channel upgrades eliminates or at least defers the substantial capital investment and associated risks related to time-consuming new cable builds Although increasing channel rates does offer economies of scale to lower the cost per transported bit there are other innovative options available to global network designers to lower network costs even further such as ROADMs and ldquooptical bypassrdquo configurations

Coherent-Based Transmission Technology

For decades optical transmission technologies deployed over terrestrial networks were incapable of achieving distances associated with transoceanic networks This meant submarine cable operators had little choice but to deploy costly submarine network-specific

transmission technologies over proprietary wet plants The advent of coherent-based transmission technology initially targeted for long distance terrestrial networks has eliminated the need to deploy expensive submarine network-specific transponders Each submarine cable system was custom-built with design goals to maximize performance and reach This led to each submarine cable system inheriting a unique optical performance ldquopersonalityrdquo which greatly differed from terrestrial optical line systems

The same coherent-based transmission technology can now be deployed overland and undersea even over very long transoceanic routes Although each submarine cable system has its own unique performance personality coherent-based transmission technology can still be used albeit to varying degrees which is further testament to the flexibility and robustness of this revolutionary technology The industry has adopted coherent-based transmission technology as the de facto

standard for upgrading submarine and terrestrial network capacities A complimentary optical network technology initially developed for terrestrial networks can also be leveraged

Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM)

The ROADM is another optical technology initially developed for terrestrial networks that has found its way into the Cable Landing Station (CLS) As wholesaling wavelengths increasingly becomes the industry practice for bandwidth purchases over global networks keeping traffic within the optical domain from Point of Presence (PoP) to PoP meaning no optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversion stages enabled far more scalable cost-effective and simpler networks to own and operate making it a logical design choice for network planners where possible Wavelengths should never be converted back into the electrical domain unless sub-wavelength access is required such as for

Figure 1 Traditional Cable Landing Station Network Design

16

grooming andor switching purposes or when limited by available link budgets

Avoiding OEO stages minimizes latency powerspace requirements network complexity and most importantly network costs When wavelengths are the wholesale ldquocurrencyrdquo of the global network they should only be converted back into the electrical domain at the very end points of the network link which is typically the inland PoP such as a data center ROADMs allow wavelengths coming from the wet plant into the CLS to be switched while remaining in the optical domain to the inland PoP or forwarded to the next CLS as ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo Since the wavelengths remain in the optical domain for the duration of their travel and utilize coherent-based optical transmission technology they are inherently more secure as they eliminate vulnerable OEO stages

Transmission and Switching Technology Convergence

Over time connecting standards-based terrestrial networks to proprietary submarine networks led to a distinct network demarcation point as shown in Figure 1 which is typically located in the CLS Although having served the telecom industry well for decades this demarcation point can be significantly optimized by leveraging the latest in technology convergence which until recently was simply not possible SDH is the standard of choice in the worldrsquos submarine

networks as well as most of the worldrsquos terrestrial networks with the notable exception of the United States which uses SONET This means submarine networks that interconnect SONET-based networks to SDH-based networks require SDHSONET protocol conversion meaning OEO stages are required Optical Transport Network (OTN) is a global standard that can be used over submarine and terrestrial networks to replace SONET and SDH to help erase the need for the traditional submarine-terrestrial demarcation point also referred to as the ldquoborderrdquo between these two networks Combining coherent-based transmission with OTN allows global network operators to further simplify PoP-to-PoP network designs which significantly reduces costs

Optical Bypass

The increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology allows operators to combine their submarine network segments along with their terrestrial backhaul network segments from into a single all-optical route from PoP-to-PoP This leads to significantly simplified network designs as shown in Figure 2 which illustrates optimized terrestrial

backhaul network segments from CLS to inland PoP through the elimination of Terrestrial Line Terminating Equipment (TLTE) transponders that traditionally performed signal regeneration as illustrated in Figure 1 ROADMs used in this ldquooptical bypassrdquo configuration allow wavelengths that are coming from the wet plant to be switched while remaining in the optical domain back to the inland PoP

The submarine networking community is understandably a very conservative group considering their unique and hostile operating environment coupled with carrying nearly 100 of the worldrsquos inter-continental electronic communications traffic Fortunately ldquooptical bypassrdquo is not new as it leverages the same technology successfully deployed over terrestrial metro and core networks for close to a decade and has proven itself in the real world as a highly reliable solution The minimization of OEO stages in an end-to-end network also increases reliability

Express Wavelengths

Submarine networks incorporating ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo also benefit from optical bypass network designs as

Figure 2 All-Optical Cable Landing Station Network Design

17

shown in Figure 3 Express wavelength transponder pairs in back-to-back configurations previously required for signal regeneration to be able to meet reach targets are eliminated This is due to coherent-based transmission technology offering increased reach and being compatible with both wet and dry plants Since a ROADM is by definition reconfigurable wavelengths can now be dropped andor expressed from any remote location such as the Network Operations Center (NOC) Given the long distances associated with global networks eliminating the need to send out trained personnel to far off remote locations to manually reconfigure wavelengths using error-prone manual methods such is the case when using patch panels is a highly coveted benefit of ROADMs

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Networks

Typical PoP-to-PoP network links that traverse a submarine network have

terrestrial backhaul network segments at each end to connect the CLS to the inland PoP As a result of the increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology wavelengths originating in

one PoP can remain in the optical domain all the way to the inland PoP at the other end of the link Switching wavelengths to the inland PoP is performed by a ROADM as shown in Figure 3 This means terrestrial backhaul transponders are eliminated in most cases

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection

For terrestrial backhaul networks with alternative routes available for protection purposes additional Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) the building blocks of ROADMs can be added to accomplish network protection while still remaining in the all optical domain as shown in Figure 5 This ensures that unnecessary OEO Figure 3 Express Wavelengths and Optical Bypass

Figure 4 Terrestrial Backhaul and Optical Bypass

18

stages are avoided on protected terrestrial backhaul routes As most network traffic is packet-based coupled with the emergence of 100 Gbs ports on core routersswitches keeping traffic in the optical domain from inland data center to inland data center whenever and wherever possible is a most efficient transport network design that is secure offers lower latency and is more reliable all of which are critical to cloud-based service offerings

The All-Optical Cable Landing Station

Maintaining data transport within the optical domain from end-to-end whenever or wherever possible is the goal of clever network operators wanting the most efficient and cost-effective network

possible This is not a new goal however as it has been sought after in terrestrial networks for over a decade What has changed in recent years is that optical transmission and switching technologies finally exist that allows this network design goal to finally be achieved for the first time over submarine networks A significant benefit of remaining in the optical domain from end-to-end is that latency a key design requirement in most networks today is significantly lowered since latency incurred over multiple unnecessary OEO stages is eliminated The all-optical CLS is evidence that the distinction between what is a submarine network and a terrestrial network is rapidly blurring

Sea Change in Global Network Designs

The all-optical CLS fully leverages the convergence of optical networking technologies As bandwidth demand growth and price erosion continues for the foreseeable network operators must challenge their current mindset related to a global network consisting of distinct individual submarine and terrestrial network segments if they are to fully leverage technology convergence and the significant benefits afforded Just as global networks have erased international political borders the all-optical cable landing station eliminates the border between submarine and terrestrial networks which benefits end users and network operators alike

Brian Lavalleacutee is the Director responsible for Global Network Solutions at Ciena

Figure 5 All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection and Optical Bypass

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

16

grooming andor switching purposes or when limited by available link budgets

Avoiding OEO stages minimizes latency powerspace requirements network complexity and most importantly network costs When wavelengths are the wholesale ldquocurrencyrdquo of the global network they should only be converted back into the electrical domain at the very end points of the network link which is typically the inland PoP such as a data center ROADMs allow wavelengths coming from the wet plant into the CLS to be switched while remaining in the optical domain to the inland PoP or forwarded to the next CLS as ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo Since the wavelengths remain in the optical domain for the duration of their travel and utilize coherent-based optical transmission technology they are inherently more secure as they eliminate vulnerable OEO stages

Transmission and Switching Technology Convergence

Over time connecting standards-based terrestrial networks to proprietary submarine networks led to a distinct network demarcation point as shown in Figure 1 which is typically located in the CLS Although having served the telecom industry well for decades this demarcation point can be significantly optimized by leveraging the latest in technology convergence which until recently was simply not possible SDH is the standard of choice in the worldrsquos submarine

networks as well as most of the worldrsquos terrestrial networks with the notable exception of the United States which uses SONET This means submarine networks that interconnect SONET-based networks to SDH-based networks require SDHSONET protocol conversion meaning OEO stages are required Optical Transport Network (OTN) is a global standard that can be used over submarine and terrestrial networks to replace SONET and SDH to help erase the need for the traditional submarine-terrestrial demarcation point also referred to as the ldquoborderrdquo between these two networks Combining coherent-based transmission with OTN allows global network operators to further simplify PoP-to-PoP network designs which significantly reduces costs

Optical Bypass

The increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology allows operators to combine their submarine network segments along with their terrestrial backhaul network segments from into a single all-optical route from PoP-to-PoP This leads to significantly simplified network designs as shown in Figure 2 which illustrates optimized terrestrial

backhaul network segments from CLS to inland PoP through the elimination of Terrestrial Line Terminating Equipment (TLTE) transponders that traditionally performed signal regeneration as illustrated in Figure 1 ROADMs used in this ldquooptical bypassrdquo configuration allow wavelengths that are coming from the wet plant to be switched while remaining in the optical domain back to the inland PoP

The submarine networking community is understandably a very conservative group considering their unique and hostile operating environment coupled with carrying nearly 100 of the worldrsquos inter-continental electronic communications traffic Fortunately ldquooptical bypassrdquo is not new as it leverages the same technology successfully deployed over terrestrial metro and core networks for close to a decade and has proven itself in the real world as a highly reliable solution The minimization of OEO stages in an end-to-end network also increases reliability

Express Wavelengths

Submarine networks incorporating ldquoexpress wavelengthsrdquo also benefit from optical bypass network designs as

Figure 2 All-Optical Cable Landing Station Network Design

17

shown in Figure 3 Express wavelength transponder pairs in back-to-back configurations previously required for signal regeneration to be able to meet reach targets are eliminated This is due to coherent-based transmission technology offering increased reach and being compatible with both wet and dry plants Since a ROADM is by definition reconfigurable wavelengths can now be dropped andor expressed from any remote location such as the Network Operations Center (NOC) Given the long distances associated with global networks eliminating the need to send out trained personnel to far off remote locations to manually reconfigure wavelengths using error-prone manual methods such is the case when using patch panels is a highly coveted benefit of ROADMs

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Networks

Typical PoP-to-PoP network links that traverse a submarine network have

terrestrial backhaul network segments at each end to connect the CLS to the inland PoP As a result of the increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology wavelengths originating in

one PoP can remain in the optical domain all the way to the inland PoP at the other end of the link Switching wavelengths to the inland PoP is performed by a ROADM as shown in Figure 3 This means terrestrial backhaul transponders are eliminated in most cases

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection

For terrestrial backhaul networks with alternative routes available for protection purposes additional Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) the building blocks of ROADMs can be added to accomplish network protection while still remaining in the all optical domain as shown in Figure 5 This ensures that unnecessary OEO Figure 3 Express Wavelengths and Optical Bypass

Figure 4 Terrestrial Backhaul and Optical Bypass

18

stages are avoided on protected terrestrial backhaul routes As most network traffic is packet-based coupled with the emergence of 100 Gbs ports on core routersswitches keeping traffic in the optical domain from inland data center to inland data center whenever and wherever possible is a most efficient transport network design that is secure offers lower latency and is more reliable all of which are critical to cloud-based service offerings

The All-Optical Cable Landing Station

Maintaining data transport within the optical domain from end-to-end whenever or wherever possible is the goal of clever network operators wanting the most efficient and cost-effective network

possible This is not a new goal however as it has been sought after in terrestrial networks for over a decade What has changed in recent years is that optical transmission and switching technologies finally exist that allows this network design goal to finally be achieved for the first time over submarine networks A significant benefit of remaining in the optical domain from end-to-end is that latency a key design requirement in most networks today is significantly lowered since latency incurred over multiple unnecessary OEO stages is eliminated The all-optical CLS is evidence that the distinction between what is a submarine network and a terrestrial network is rapidly blurring

Sea Change in Global Network Designs

The all-optical CLS fully leverages the convergence of optical networking technologies As bandwidth demand growth and price erosion continues for the foreseeable network operators must challenge their current mindset related to a global network consisting of distinct individual submarine and terrestrial network segments if they are to fully leverage technology convergence and the significant benefits afforded Just as global networks have erased international political borders the all-optical cable landing station eliminates the border between submarine and terrestrial networks which benefits end users and network operators alike

Brian Lavalleacutee is the Director responsible for Global Network Solutions at Ciena

Figure 5 All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection and Optical Bypass

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

17

shown in Figure 3 Express wavelength transponder pairs in back-to-back configurations previously required for signal regeneration to be able to meet reach targets are eliminated This is due to coherent-based transmission technology offering increased reach and being compatible with both wet and dry plants Since a ROADM is by definition reconfigurable wavelengths can now be dropped andor expressed from any remote location such as the Network Operations Center (NOC) Given the long distances associated with global networks eliminating the need to send out trained personnel to far off remote locations to manually reconfigure wavelengths using error-prone manual methods such is the case when using patch panels is a highly coveted benefit of ROADMs

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Networks

Typical PoP-to-PoP network links that traverse a submarine network have

terrestrial backhaul network segments at each end to connect the CLS to the inland PoP As a result of the increased reach afforded by coherent-based transmission technology wavelengths originating in

one PoP can remain in the optical domain all the way to the inland PoP at the other end of the link Switching wavelengths to the inland PoP is performed by a ROADM as shown in Figure 3 This means terrestrial backhaul transponders are eliminated in most cases

All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection

For terrestrial backhaul networks with alternative routes available for protection purposes additional Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) the building blocks of ROADMs can be added to accomplish network protection while still remaining in the all optical domain as shown in Figure 5 This ensures that unnecessary OEO Figure 3 Express Wavelengths and Optical Bypass

Figure 4 Terrestrial Backhaul and Optical Bypass

18

stages are avoided on protected terrestrial backhaul routes As most network traffic is packet-based coupled with the emergence of 100 Gbs ports on core routersswitches keeping traffic in the optical domain from inland data center to inland data center whenever and wherever possible is a most efficient transport network design that is secure offers lower latency and is more reliable all of which are critical to cloud-based service offerings

The All-Optical Cable Landing Station

Maintaining data transport within the optical domain from end-to-end whenever or wherever possible is the goal of clever network operators wanting the most efficient and cost-effective network

possible This is not a new goal however as it has been sought after in terrestrial networks for over a decade What has changed in recent years is that optical transmission and switching technologies finally exist that allows this network design goal to finally be achieved for the first time over submarine networks A significant benefit of remaining in the optical domain from end-to-end is that latency a key design requirement in most networks today is significantly lowered since latency incurred over multiple unnecessary OEO stages is eliminated The all-optical CLS is evidence that the distinction between what is a submarine network and a terrestrial network is rapidly blurring

Sea Change in Global Network Designs

The all-optical CLS fully leverages the convergence of optical networking technologies As bandwidth demand growth and price erosion continues for the foreseeable network operators must challenge their current mindset related to a global network consisting of distinct individual submarine and terrestrial network segments if they are to fully leverage technology convergence and the significant benefits afforded Just as global networks have erased international political borders the all-optical cable landing station eliminates the border between submarine and terrestrial networks which benefits end users and network operators alike

Brian Lavalleacutee is the Director responsible for Global Network Solutions at Ciena

Figure 5 All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection and Optical Bypass

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

18

stages are avoided on protected terrestrial backhaul routes As most network traffic is packet-based coupled with the emergence of 100 Gbs ports on core routersswitches keeping traffic in the optical domain from inland data center to inland data center whenever and wherever possible is a most efficient transport network design that is secure offers lower latency and is more reliable all of which are critical to cloud-based service offerings

The All-Optical Cable Landing Station

Maintaining data transport within the optical domain from end-to-end whenever or wherever possible is the goal of clever network operators wanting the most efficient and cost-effective network

possible This is not a new goal however as it has been sought after in terrestrial networks for over a decade What has changed in recent years is that optical transmission and switching technologies finally exist that allows this network design goal to finally be achieved for the first time over submarine networks A significant benefit of remaining in the optical domain from end-to-end is that latency a key design requirement in most networks today is significantly lowered since latency incurred over multiple unnecessary OEO stages is eliminated The all-optical CLS is evidence that the distinction between what is a submarine network and a terrestrial network is rapidly blurring

Sea Change in Global Network Designs

The all-optical CLS fully leverages the convergence of optical networking technologies As bandwidth demand growth and price erosion continues for the foreseeable network operators must challenge their current mindset related to a global network consisting of distinct individual submarine and terrestrial network segments if they are to fully leverage technology convergence and the significant benefits afforded Just as global networks have erased international political borders the all-optical cable landing station eliminates the border between submarine and terrestrial networks which benefits end users and network operators alike

Brian Lavalleacutee is the Director responsible for Global Network Solutions at Ciena

Figure 5 All Optical Terrestrial Backhaul Protection and Optical Bypass

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

19

FCC INITIATES RULEMAKING TO REFORM MARKET-ENTRY RULES FOR INVESTORS AND CARRIERS FROM NON-WTO-MEMBER COUNTRIES

On October 11 2012 the US Federal Communications Commission (ldquoFCCrdquo) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (ldquoNPRMrdquo) in IB Docket No 12-229 proposing to simplify or eliminate entirely the burdensome market-entry rules that currently apply to carriers and investors from countries that are not members of the World Trade Organization (ldquoWTOrdquo) The FCCrsquos current rules impose significant delays and expenses on such carriers and investors seeking access to the US market and on US carriers seeking to invest in foreign carriers operating in non-WTO-member countries The proposed reforms would do away with these burdens in whole or in part and benefit non-WTO members particularly small island nations though the reforms are not as ambitious as some had hoped Comments will be due within 30 days of publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register which has not yet occurred

The ECO Test In 1995 the FCC began requiring that a carrier or investor make a showing of effective competitive opportunities (the ldquoECO testrdquo) before it could (a) obtain a Section 214 authorization to provide international telecommunications services directly between the United States

and the foreign carrierinvestorrsquos home market using undersea-cable or satellite capacity (b) obtain a cable landing license to land an undersea cable in the United States or its territories or (c) acquire an affiliation (cross-ownership of greater than 25 percent) with a licensed US carrier Under the ECO test the foreign carrier or investor must make extensive legal and factual submissions to demonstrate that its home market provides effective opportunities to compete in that countryrsquos market for the service which the foreign carrier or investor seeks to provide in the United States provides reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges terms and conditions for interconnection to a foreign carrierrsquos domestic facilities provides competitive safeguards provides an effective regulatory framework to develop implement and enforce legal requirements interconnection arrangements and other safeguards

Disparate Treatment After the WTO Deal In 1997 (and effective from February 5 1998) an initial sixty-nine countries made commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (ldquoGATSrdquo) (These commitments are sometimes known as the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement) To implement US GATS commitments in basic telecommunications services the FCC adopted the Foreign Participation Order

and related liberalizing rules in 1997 For carriers and investors from WTO-member countries the FCC replaced the ECO test with a presumption that market entry by the foreign investorcarrier would serve the public interest To take advantage of the presumption a foreign carrier or investor need only show that its home country or market is an actual (not prospective) WTO-member country It need not show that its home country or market has made specific commitments in basic telecommunications under the GATS For countries outside the WTO however their investors and carriers must still complete the time-consuming and expensive process of satisfying the FCCrsquos ECO test In the most recent cases of carriers seeking to satisfy the ECO test it took the FCC more than a year to act

Many Smaller Countries Would Benefit from Reform Consequently the FCCrsquos proposals to reform or eliminate the ECO test entirely would greatly benefit investors and carriers from non-WTO-member countries Although the list has grown smaller since 1997 a considerable number of countries remain outside the WTO These include (by region) the following

raquoraquo Pacific Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Niue Palau Tokelau and Tuvalu

Regulatory Advisory

19

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

20

raquoraquo Africa Algeria Comoros Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Liberia Libya Satildeo Tomeacute and Priacutencipe Seychelles Somalia South Sudan and Sudan

raquoraquo Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Kazakhstan Lebanon Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Yemen

raquoraquo East and Southeast Asia Bhutan Laos (WTO membership expected by end of 2012) North Korea and Timor Leste

raquoraquo Americas Aruba Bahamas and Bermuda (status disputed)

raquoraquo Europe Andorra Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) Kosovo Monaco San Marino and Serbia

Countries marked with an asterisk () have undertaken WTO accession negotiations Many of the countries that have not undertaken accession negotiations are small island states particularly in the Pacific

Two Alternatives Proposed As the FCC notes in the NPRM ldquothe detailed ECO Test requirements were designed to be applied to countries that could support advanced regulatory regimes but most of the remaining non-WTO Member countries are smaller countries and may be without resources to support a regulatory framework that meets

the detailed ECO Test requirementsrdquo The FCC therefore proposes to eliminate the ECO test and instead analyze on a case-by-case basis as part of its public interest determination ldquowhether US carriers are experiencing competitive problems in that market and whether the public interest would be served by authorizing the foreign carrier to enter the US marketrdquo License applications would still not be eligible for ldquostreamlined processingrdquomdashthe FCCrsquos 15-day auto-grant procedure and the foreign carrier affiliation notifications would continue to require a 45 day notification prior to consummation of the investment transaction resulting in cross-ownership The FCC also reserves the right to consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (ldquoUSTRrdquo) and other agencies as to any anticompetitive problems that may exist for US companies in the home market of the applicant As an alternative to outright elimination of the ECO test the FCC proposes to retain but simplify the ECO test principally by eliminating certain of the criteria for demonstrating a practical ability of a US carrier to enter the applicantrsquos home market

No Discussion of Dependent Territories In the NPRM the FCC does not expressly consider issues involving the WTO status of overseas territories possessions and dependencies Some dependent territories (eg Aruba and the British Virgin Islands) are expressly covered by the WTO commitments of the sovereign nations that control those territoriesrsquo foreign and trade relations while some dependent territories (eg

Channel Islands and Tokelau) are expressly excluded from the sovereign nationsrsquo WTO commitments In some cases WTO status is simply not clear In fact sometimes the United States disagrees with its trading partners regarding the WTO status of dependent territories The US Government (including the FCC) has long treated Bermuda as subject to UK WTO commitments even though the UK Government itself takes the position that Bermuda is not covered by the United Kingdomrsquos WTO membership or commitments as Bermuda (unlike other UK overseas territories) declined to be covered Nevertheless USTR could weigh in on this particular issue USTR tends to take a more restrictive view of the WTO status of dependent territories

For more information regarding US market-entry rules or Wiltshire amp Grannisrsquos international telecommunications and undersea cable practices or for assistance in preparing comments to be filed in this proceeding once it formally commences please contact Kent Bressie at +1 202 730 1337 or kbressiewiltshiregranniscom

WampG does not intend this advisory to convey legal advice We circulate it as a convenience and do not intend it to reflect or create an attorney-client relationship as to its subject matter

20

21

22

Upgrading Cables SystemsMore Possibilities That You originally Think of

Bertrand Clesca Dr Herve Fevrier amp Dr Joerg Schwartz

23

With the predominance of subsea cable systems for international long-distance connectivity and

the CapEx constraints experienced in most parts of the world upgrading existing submarine optical assets to maximize their capacity and extend their lifetime is of the utmost importance Such upgrades allow system operators to efficiently address the skyrocketing need for bandwidth Subsea cable system upgrades can have different flavors and can be applied to more or less complex systems This article explores the different upgrade approaches that have been already applied in the field and can be considered in the future

Dry Upgrades

When only the dry plant is involved the benefits of upgrading existing subsea cable infrastructures are now well known and accepted by the community These benefits include a lower cost since no CapEx is required for laying new subsea cables a shorter lead time that is mostly driven by the supply of the new Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to be connected to the cable and no permitting issues making the availability date for the new capacity more predictable

This has not been historically always the case Initially the original suppliers of the existing systems happily supported the notion that connecting an SLTE from another vendor would not work ndash or at least was not a good idea technically

or could impact the system warranty or could even cause some intellectual property issues to be dealt with by the cable operator But by now the situation is quite different ndash with subsea cable system operators assessing upgrade possibilities not only before the end of the warranty period but sometimes even before the RFS date of the system In fact it seems like the only reason why customers do not purchase the wet plant completely separate from the dry equipment is that they have not found a way (yet) for the wet plant supplier to guarantee performance and system capacity

Xtera has been working on the upgrade of submarine cable systems since 2001 and carried out its first commercial upgrade project in Q1 2006 The major benefits from this relatively recently created upgrade market are more competition more advanced technology at the terminal level and lower incremental price for new capacity Upgrading SLTE in the cable landing stations typically requires a procurement and installation cycle of less than 8-months compared with an average of 3 years for building a brand new long-haul cable system (depending on size) SLTE upgrade can be carried out on unrepeatered or repeatered cable systems with the main following two approaches

raquoraquo Dark fiber upgrade Lighting a dark fiber pair when one is available or it is viable to migrate all traffic onto a lit fiber pair

raquoraquo Overlay upgrade Launching new optical wavelengths in addition to the ones from the existing SLTE equipment This is generally carried out via an optical coupler to insert the new wavelengths into the line and a splitter at the receive end

For both upgrade options there is the possibility to keep the original Line Monitoring Equipment (LME) or to switch to the LME equipment from the vendor supplying the new SLTE (provided of course that this vendor has the capabilities to monitor the submerged equipment) The new system design capacity is then governed by the characteristics of the line that largely consists of the optical fiber cable and repeaters The key characteristics that may limit the maximal system capacity include optical attenuation (not only the original figure but also the increase due to multiple cable cutsrepairs if any) for unrepeatered systems and the noise generated along the system as well as its chromatic dispersion map and reaction to increased optical powers in the fiber (nonlinear performance) for repeatered systems

The market research firm Ovum publishes on a regular basis revenue figures for the supply of the SLTE and repeaters for subsea cable system (these revenue figures do not include subsea cable and marine operations) From Ovum data the revenue figures for the dry upgrade market (ie supply of only SLTE for

24

upgrading existing cable systems) can be estimated to represent about 50 of the total revenue figures for the supply of the SLTE and repeaters

Wet Plant Reconfiguration

If upgrading the terminals is not or no longer viable the next obvious step in upgrading subsea cable systems for further improvement of their capacity can be to reconfigure the wet plant This can be achieved in different ways depending on the type and generation of cable system Touching the wet plant and not only the

equipment in the cable landing station can have however very significant commercial and operational implications ndash making most people stay away and not even start thinking about it

A new breath of life for unrepeatered systems

There are cases however where this can make a lot of sense both technically and commercially The simplest wet plant reconfiguration is the insertion of a Remote Optically Pumped Amplifier (ROPA) into an existing unrepeatered

cable system Capacity wise adding a ROPA tremendously increases the system capacity for a cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G the insertion of ROPA brings about 10 dB of extra gain in the cable and boosts the design capacity to 70 x 100G The addition of a single component per direction like a ROPA brings a 6-Tbs capacity increase per fiber pair in this example

This upgrade is however not as simple as just plugging in a component into the optical path Firstly this is an out-of-service upgrade of the wet plant which cuts the line and requires traffic restoration Secondly in order to get full capacity benefit it requires careful design with respect to ROPA design location and characteristics that need to be optimized and adapted to the pre-existing wet plant Thirdly there are commercial and operational aspects that will be found for any type of upgrade where the wet plant is reconfigured On the commercial side the baseline cost of replacinginserting a piece of wet plant is largely dependent on the water depth and burial requirements Still using the example of an unrepeatered system the cable is very often in shallow water and the ROPAs are generally 80 km away from the end points Both facts require cable burial and consequently a non-negligible cost fort the ROPA insertion

Another important factor is the cost of vessel mobilization A way to minimize it

25

is to check whether work can be performed as outside work of a maintenance ship (if it is this work is usually interruptible) The type of vessel to be used also heavily impacts on the upgrade cost In very shallow water a mobile spread on an inshore vessel may be a better option than a cable repair ship Still focusing on the example of an unrepeatered system where ROPAs are inserted the marine work (single operation in shallow water including burial) will take at least 6-10 days at a cost of about $500k to $800k at todayrsquos vessel costs (outside maintenance agreements) Of course this cost needs to be multiplied by the number of operations needed (eg 2 in the case of a single unrepeatered cable where a ROPA needs to be inserted at each end) and then compared to the financial benefit of the operation (eg return on invest by larger capacity to be sold) Using again the example of an unrepeatered cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G $1m to $16m are needed to insert two ROPAs this cost offers a capacity increase of 6-Tbs per fiber pair

In addition to the marine expenditure discussed above there is also a cost to the operational impact this is the cost of traffic restoration during the upgrade operation This cost is heavily dependent on the ldquolocalrdquo capacity market and capacity resources availability between the end points of the cable system to be upgraded

Other Types of Wet Plant Reconfigurations

Assessing carefully the commercial and operational consequences more complex wet plant reconfigurations beyond the insertion of ROPAs into a single unrepeatered cable system can be considered

The first obvious type of wet plant reconfiguration is the replacement of faultyunderspecified units This corresponds for instance to the replacing of degraded wet plant components (eg repeaters)

Another type of wet plant reconfiguration can be the insertion of branching units in order to connect to new countries and address new markets along the main subsea trunk The reconfiguration will be easier if short un-powered spurs are to be added to an existing cable system Insertion of branching units for adding long spurs with repeaters has been also carried out but mostly with incumbent vendor so far The main reason for the latter is that operators are concerned about the warranty for the wet plant (repeaters and cable) on the trunk route ndash which sounds familiar to the argument

26

mentioned above when terminal upgrades were first introduced

Redeployment of Decommissioned Cable Systems

Redeployment of cable systems is another type of wet plant reconfiguration which has been successfully implemented several times in the past three years In addition to the usual motivations for upgrading a cable system the main drivers to cable redeployment are the decommissioning of an old-generation cable and sometimes the legal obligation to recover the phased-out cable from the seabed in combination with need for capacity in another part of the world where thin pipes are sufficient and funding of a new cable would be difficult

Palau National Communications shared their business case for cable relay at Submarine Networks World Singapore 2012 conference For building new international optical connectivity the new cable approach required $40 to 65M CapEx while the alternative cable relay option was estimated to about $30M The cable relay approach will also speed up Palau National Communications project significantly estimated to be in service within one year vs three years for a brand new cable system

In addition to simply redeploy the recovered cable as is there are many variants to this relay approach For instance the original repeaters can be

removed and the fiber sections spliced to each other in order to build a new unrepeatered cable system Another variant is to replace the original old-generation repeaters by new-generation optical repeaters in order to increase the system capacity Both operations can be carried out aboard the cable ship after the recovery of the cable and while sailing to the new location for redeployment

Reconfiguration of Regenerated Cable Systems

A number of these systems are still in service or being retired and still laid on the seafloor They were originally deployed with optical-electrical-optical regenerators inserted in the cable every 50 to 80 km typically with a bit rate of 280 or 565 Mbs Obviously the optical fibers were specified for single wavelength operation and may not be always suitable for WDM transmission

From a capacity perspective removing the PDH regenerators from a short cable system can lead to a significant capacity increase Using the example of a 330-km 565-Mbs system removing the regenerators and placing two ROPAs at the locations of two previous regenerators (in order to minimize the amount of marine operations) turns the regenerated system into an unrepeatered system with a design capacity exceeding 80 Gbs assuming 10G waves This represents a 150-fold increase in the cable system capacity by simply

removing the old PDH regenerators and inserting two ROPAs

Longer regenerated cable systems can be considered for this type of reconfiguration with the replacement of the regenerators by optical repeaters In this case integration and test are highly critical in order to ensure proper mechanical electrical and monitoring interworking between the original cable and the new optical repeaters while maximizing the system capacity

In conclusion upgrading existing subsea cable systems can be achieved at different levels and applied to virtually all the cable types and generations Challenging upgrades require however an in-depth expertise in order to fully assess and understand the fundamental limitations that govern the ultimate system capacity Challenging upgrades require not only a strong experience in building and managing projects that can be more complex than the deployment of a new cable system but also the capabilities of a full supplier for offering all the products and services that are necessary

Note Illustrations by courtesy of France Telecom Marine

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

23

With the predominance of subsea cable systems for international long-distance connectivity and

the CapEx constraints experienced in most parts of the world upgrading existing submarine optical assets to maximize their capacity and extend their lifetime is of the utmost importance Such upgrades allow system operators to efficiently address the skyrocketing need for bandwidth Subsea cable system upgrades can have different flavors and can be applied to more or less complex systems This article explores the different upgrade approaches that have been already applied in the field and can be considered in the future

Dry Upgrades

When only the dry plant is involved the benefits of upgrading existing subsea cable infrastructures are now well known and accepted by the community These benefits include a lower cost since no CapEx is required for laying new subsea cables a shorter lead time that is mostly driven by the supply of the new Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to be connected to the cable and no permitting issues making the availability date for the new capacity more predictable

This has not been historically always the case Initially the original suppliers of the existing systems happily supported the notion that connecting an SLTE from another vendor would not work ndash or at least was not a good idea technically

or could impact the system warranty or could even cause some intellectual property issues to be dealt with by the cable operator But by now the situation is quite different ndash with subsea cable system operators assessing upgrade possibilities not only before the end of the warranty period but sometimes even before the RFS date of the system In fact it seems like the only reason why customers do not purchase the wet plant completely separate from the dry equipment is that they have not found a way (yet) for the wet plant supplier to guarantee performance and system capacity

Xtera has been working on the upgrade of submarine cable systems since 2001 and carried out its first commercial upgrade project in Q1 2006 The major benefits from this relatively recently created upgrade market are more competition more advanced technology at the terminal level and lower incremental price for new capacity Upgrading SLTE in the cable landing stations typically requires a procurement and installation cycle of less than 8-months compared with an average of 3 years for building a brand new long-haul cable system (depending on size) SLTE upgrade can be carried out on unrepeatered or repeatered cable systems with the main following two approaches

raquoraquo Dark fiber upgrade Lighting a dark fiber pair when one is available or it is viable to migrate all traffic onto a lit fiber pair

raquoraquo Overlay upgrade Launching new optical wavelengths in addition to the ones from the existing SLTE equipment This is generally carried out via an optical coupler to insert the new wavelengths into the line and a splitter at the receive end

For both upgrade options there is the possibility to keep the original Line Monitoring Equipment (LME) or to switch to the LME equipment from the vendor supplying the new SLTE (provided of course that this vendor has the capabilities to monitor the submerged equipment) The new system design capacity is then governed by the characteristics of the line that largely consists of the optical fiber cable and repeaters The key characteristics that may limit the maximal system capacity include optical attenuation (not only the original figure but also the increase due to multiple cable cutsrepairs if any) for unrepeatered systems and the noise generated along the system as well as its chromatic dispersion map and reaction to increased optical powers in the fiber (nonlinear performance) for repeatered systems

The market research firm Ovum publishes on a regular basis revenue figures for the supply of the SLTE and repeaters for subsea cable system (these revenue figures do not include subsea cable and marine operations) From Ovum data the revenue figures for the dry upgrade market (ie supply of only SLTE for

24

upgrading existing cable systems) can be estimated to represent about 50 of the total revenue figures for the supply of the SLTE and repeaters

Wet Plant Reconfiguration

If upgrading the terminals is not or no longer viable the next obvious step in upgrading subsea cable systems for further improvement of their capacity can be to reconfigure the wet plant This can be achieved in different ways depending on the type and generation of cable system Touching the wet plant and not only the

equipment in the cable landing station can have however very significant commercial and operational implications ndash making most people stay away and not even start thinking about it

A new breath of life for unrepeatered systems

There are cases however where this can make a lot of sense both technically and commercially The simplest wet plant reconfiguration is the insertion of a Remote Optically Pumped Amplifier (ROPA) into an existing unrepeatered

cable system Capacity wise adding a ROPA tremendously increases the system capacity for a cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G the insertion of ROPA brings about 10 dB of extra gain in the cable and boosts the design capacity to 70 x 100G The addition of a single component per direction like a ROPA brings a 6-Tbs capacity increase per fiber pair in this example

This upgrade is however not as simple as just plugging in a component into the optical path Firstly this is an out-of-service upgrade of the wet plant which cuts the line and requires traffic restoration Secondly in order to get full capacity benefit it requires careful design with respect to ROPA design location and characteristics that need to be optimized and adapted to the pre-existing wet plant Thirdly there are commercial and operational aspects that will be found for any type of upgrade where the wet plant is reconfigured On the commercial side the baseline cost of replacinginserting a piece of wet plant is largely dependent on the water depth and burial requirements Still using the example of an unrepeatered system the cable is very often in shallow water and the ROPAs are generally 80 km away from the end points Both facts require cable burial and consequently a non-negligible cost fort the ROPA insertion

Another important factor is the cost of vessel mobilization A way to minimize it

25

is to check whether work can be performed as outside work of a maintenance ship (if it is this work is usually interruptible) The type of vessel to be used also heavily impacts on the upgrade cost In very shallow water a mobile spread on an inshore vessel may be a better option than a cable repair ship Still focusing on the example of an unrepeatered system where ROPAs are inserted the marine work (single operation in shallow water including burial) will take at least 6-10 days at a cost of about $500k to $800k at todayrsquos vessel costs (outside maintenance agreements) Of course this cost needs to be multiplied by the number of operations needed (eg 2 in the case of a single unrepeatered cable where a ROPA needs to be inserted at each end) and then compared to the financial benefit of the operation (eg return on invest by larger capacity to be sold) Using again the example of an unrepeatered cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G $1m to $16m are needed to insert two ROPAs this cost offers a capacity increase of 6-Tbs per fiber pair

In addition to the marine expenditure discussed above there is also a cost to the operational impact this is the cost of traffic restoration during the upgrade operation This cost is heavily dependent on the ldquolocalrdquo capacity market and capacity resources availability between the end points of the cable system to be upgraded

Other Types of Wet Plant Reconfigurations

Assessing carefully the commercial and operational consequences more complex wet plant reconfigurations beyond the insertion of ROPAs into a single unrepeatered cable system can be considered

The first obvious type of wet plant reconfiguration is the replacement of faultyunderspecified units This corresponds for instance to the replacing of degraded wet plant components (eg repeaters)

Another type of wet plant reconfiguration can be the insertion of branching units in order to connect to new countries and address new markets along the main subsea trunk The reconfiguration will be easier if short un-powered spurs are to be added to an existing cable system Insertion of branching units for adding long spurs with repeaters has been also carried out but mostly with incumbent vendor so far The main reason for the latter is that operators are concerned about the warranty for the wet plant (repeaters and cable) on the trunk route ndash which sounds familiar to the argument

26

mentioned above when terminal upgrades were first introduced

Redeployment of Decommissioned Cable Systems

Redeployment of cable systems is another type of wet plant reconfiguration which has been successfully implemented several times in the past three years In addition to the usual motivations for upgrading a cable system the main drivers to cable redeployment are the decommissioning of an old-generation cable and sometimes the legal obligation to recover the phased-out cable from the seabed in combination with need for capacity in another part of the world where thin pipes are sufficient and funding of a new cable would be difficult

Palau National Communications shared their business case for cable relay at Submarine Networks World Singapore 2012 conference For building new international optical connectivity the new cable approach required $40 to 65M CapEx while the alternative cable relay option was estimated to about $30M The cable relay approach will also speed up Palau National Communications project significantly estimated to be in service within one year vs three years for a brand new cable system

In addition to simply redeploy the recovered cable as is there are many variants to this relay approach For instance the original repeaters can be

removed and the fiber sections spliced to each other in order to build a new unrepeatered cable system Another variant is to replace the original old-generation repeaters by new-generation optical repeaters in order to increase the system capacity Both operations can be carried out aboard the cable ship after the recovery of the cable and while sailing to the new location for redeployment

Reconfiguration of Regenerated Cable Systems

A number of these systems are still in service or being retired and still laid on the seafloor They were originally deployed with optical-electrical-optical regenerators inserted in the cable every 50 to 80 km typically with a bit rate of 280 or 565 Mbs Obviously the optical fibers were specified for single wavelength operation and may not be always suitable for WDM transmission

From a capacity perspective removing the PDH regenerators from a short cable system can lead to a significant capacity increase Using the example of a 330-km 565-Mbs system removing the regenerators and placing two ROPAs at the locations of two previous regenerators (in order to minimize the amount of marine operations) turns the regenerated system into an unrepeatered system with a design capacity exceeding 80 Gbs assuming 10G waves This represents a 150-fold increase in the cable system capacity by simply

removing the old PDH regenerators and inserting two ROPAs

Longer regenerated cable systems can be considered for this type of reconfiguration with the replacement of the regenerators by optical repeaters In this case integration and test are highly critical in order to ensure proper mechanical electrical and monitoring interworking between the original cable and the new optical repeaters while maximizing the system capacity

In conclusion upgrading existing subsea cable systems can be achieved at different levels and applied to virtually all the cable types and generations Challenging upgrades require however an in-depth expertise in order to fully assess and understand the fundamental limitations that govern the ultimate system capacity Challenging upgrades require not only a strong experience in building and managing projects that can be more complex than the deployment of a new cable system but also the capabilities of a full supplier for offering all the products and services that are necessary

Note Illustrations by courtesy of France Telecom Marine

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

24

upgrading existing cable systems) can be estimated to represent about 50 of the total revenue figures for the supply of the SLTE and repeaters

Wet Plant Reconfiguration

If upgrading the terminals is not or no longer viable the next obvious step in upgrading subsea cable systems for further improvement of their capacity can be to reconfigure the wet plant This can be achieved in different ways depending on the type and generation of cable system Touching the wet plant and not only the

equipment in the cable landing station can have however very significant commercial and operational implications ndash making most people stay away and not even start thinking about it

A new breath of life for unrepeatered systems

There are cases however where this can make a lot of sense both technically and commercially The simplest wet plant reconfiguration is the insertion of a Remote Optically Pumped Amplifier (ROPA) into an existing unrepeatered

cable system Capacity wise adding a ROPA tremendously increases the system capacity for a cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G the insertion of ROPA brings about 10 dB of extra gain in the cable and boosts the design capacity to 70 x 100G The addition of a single component per direction like a ROPA brings a 6-Tbs capacity increase per fiber pair in this example

This upgrade is however not as simple as just plugging in a component into the optical path Firstly this is an out-of-service upgrade of the wet plant which cuts the line and requires traffic restoration Secondly in order to get full capacity benefit it requires careful design with respect to ROPA design location and characteristics that need to be optimized and adapted to the pre-existing wet plant Thirdly there are commercial and operational aspects that will be found for any type of upgrade where the wet plant is reconfigured On the commercial side the baseline cost of replacinginserting a piece of wet plant is largely dependent on the water depth and burial requirements Still using the example of an unrepeatered system the cable is very often in shallow water and the ROPAs are generally 80 km away from the end points Both facts require cable burial and consequently a non-negligible cost fort the ROPA insertion

Another important factor is the cost of vessel mobilization A way to minimize it

25

is to check whether work can be performed as outside work of a maintenance ship (if it is this work is usually interruptible) The type of vessel to be used also heavily impacts on the upgrade cost In very shallow water a mobile spread on an inshore vessel may be a better option than a cable repair ship Still focusing on the example of an unrepeatered system where ROPAs are inserted the marine work (single operation in shallow water including burial) will take at least 6-10 days at a cost of about $500k to $800k at todayrsquos vessel costs (outside maintenance agreements) Of course this cost needs to be multiplied by the number of operations needed (eg 2 in the case of a single unrepeatered cable where a ROPA needs to be inserted at each end) and then compared to the financial benefit of the operation (eg return on invest by larger capacity to be sold) Using again the example of an unrepeatered cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G $1m to $16m are needed to insert two ROPAs this cost offers a capacity increase of 6-Tbs per fiber pair

In addition to the marine expenditure discussed above there is also a cost to the operational impact this is the cost of traffic restoration during the upgrade operation This cost is heavily dependent on the ldquolocalrdquo capacity market and capacity resources availability between the end points of the cable system to be upgraded

Other Types of Wet Plant Reconfigurations

Assessing carefully the commercial and operational consequences more complex wet plant reconfigurations beyond the insertion of ROPAs into a single unrepeatered cable system can be considered

The first obvious type of wet plant reconfiguration is the replacement of faultyunderspecified units This corresponds for instance to the replacing of degraded wet plant components (eg repeaters)

Another type of wet plant reconfiguration can be the insertion of branching units in order to connect to new countries and address new markets along the main subsea trunk The reconfiguration will be easier if short un-powered spurs are to be added to an existing cable system Insertion of branching units for adding long spurs with repeaters has been also carried out but mostly with incumbent vendor so far The main reason for the latter is that operators are concerned about the warranty for the wet plant (repeaters and cable) on the trunk route ndash which sounds familiar to the argument

26

mentioned above when terminal upgrades were first introduced

Redeployment of Decommissioned Cable Systems

Redeployment of cable systems is another type of wet plant reconfiguration which has been successfully implemented several times in the past three years In addition to the usual motivations for upgrading a cable system the main drivers to cable redeployment are the decommissioning of an old-generation cable and sometimes the legal obligation to recover the phased-out cable from the seabed in combination with need for capacity in another part of the world where thin pipes are sufficient and funding of a new cable would be difficult

Palau National Communications shared their business case for cable relay at Submarine Networks World Singapore 2012 conference For building new international optical connectivity the new cable approach required $40 to 65M CapEx while the alternative cable relay option was estimated to about $30M The cable relay approach will also speed up Palau National Communications project significantly estimated to be in service within one year vs three years for a brand new cable system

In addition to simply redeploy the recovered cable as is there are many variants to this relay approach For instance the original repeaters can be

removed and the fiber sections spliced to each other in order to build a new unrepeatered cable system Another variant is to replace the original old-generation repeaters by new-generation optical repeaters in order to increase the system capacity Both operations can be carried out aboard the cable ship after the recovery of the cable and while sailing to the new location for redeployment

Reconfiguration of Regenerated Cable Systems

A number of these systems are still in service or being retired and still laid on the seafloor They were originally deployed with optical-electrical-optical regenerators inserted in the cable every 50 to 80 km typically with a bit rate of 280 or 565 Mbs Obviously the optical fibers were specified for single wavelength operation and may not be always suitable for WDM transmission

From a capacity perspective removing the PDH regenerators from a short cable system can lead to a significant capacity increase Using the example of a 330-km 565-Mbs system removing the regenerators and placing two ROPAs at the locations of two previous regenerators (in order to minimize the amount of marine operations) turns the regenerated system into an unrepeatered system with a design capacity exceeding 80 Gbs assuming 10G waves This represents a 150-fold increase in the cable system capacity by simply

removing the old PDH regenerators and inserting two ROPAs

Longer regenerated cable systems can be considered for this type of reconfiguration with the replacement of the regenerators by optical repeaters In this case integration and test are highly critical in order to ensure proper mechanical electrical and monitoring interworking between the original cable and the new optical repeaters while maximizing the system capacity

In conclusion upgrading existing subsea cable systems can be achieved at different levels and applied to virtually all the cable types and generations Challenging upgrades require however an in-depth expertise in order to fully assess and understand the fundamental limitations that govern the ultimate system capacity Challenging upgrades require not only a strong experience in building and managing projects that can be more complex than the deployment of a new cable system but also the capabilities of a full supplier for offering all the products and services that are necessary

Note Illustrations by courtesy of France Telecom Marine

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

25

is to check whether work can be performed as outside work of a maintenance ship (if it is this work is usually interruptible) The type of vessel to be used also heavily impacts on the upgrade cost In very shallow water a mobile spread on an inshore vessel may be a better option than a cable repair ship Still focusing on the example of an unrepeatered system where ROPAs are inserted the marine work (single operation in shallow water including burial) will take at least 6-10 days at a cost of about $500k to $800k at todayrsquos vessel costs (outside maintenance agreements) Of course this cost needs to be multiplied by the number of operations needed (eg 2 in the case of a single unrepeatered cable where a ROPA needs to be inserted at each end) and then compared to the financial benefit of the operation (eg return on invest by larger capacity to be sold) Using again the example of an unrepeatered cable system designed for an end-of-life attenuation of about 65 dB and with a design capacity of 100 x 10G $1m to $16m are needed to insert two ROPAs this cost offers a capacity increase of 6-Tbs per fiber pair

In addition to the marine expenditure discussed above there is also a cost to the operational impact this is the cost of traffic restoration during the upgrade operation This cost is heavily dependent on the ldquolocalrdquo capacity market and capacity resources availability between the end points of the cable system to be upgraded

Other Types of Wet Plant Reconfigurations

Assessing carefully the commercial and operational consequences more complex wet plant reconfigurations beyond the insertion of ROPAs into a single unrepeatered cable system can be considered

The first obvious type of wet plant reconfiguration is the replacement of faultyunderspecified units This corresponds for instance to the replacing of degraded wet plant components (eg repeaters)

Another type of wet plant reconfiguration can be the insertion of branching units in order to connect to new countries and address new markets along the main subsea trunk The reconfiguration will be easier if short un-powered spurs are to be added to an existing cable system Insertion of branching units for adding long spurs with repeaters has been also carried out but mostly with incumbent vendor so far The main reason for the latter is that operators are concerned about the warranty for the wet plant (repeaters and cable) on the trunk route ndash which sounds familiar to the argument

26

mentioned above when terminal upgrades were first introduced

Redeployment of Decommissioned Cable Systems

Redeployment of cable systems is another type of wet plant reconfiguration which has been successfully implemented several times in the past three years In addition to the usual motivations for upgrading a cable system the main drivers to cable redeployment are the decommissioning of an old-generation cable and sometimes the legal obligation to recover the phased-out cable from the seabed in combination with need for capacity in another part of the world where thin pipes are sufficient and funding of a new cable would be difficult

Palau National Communications shared their business case for cable relay at Submarine Networks World Singapore 2012 conference For building new international optical connectivity the new cable approach required $40 to 65M CapEx while the alternative cable relay option was estimated to about $30M The cable relay approach will also speed up Palau National Communications project significantly estimated to be in service within one year vs three years for a brand new cable system

In addition to simply redeploy the recovered cable as is there are many variants to this relay approach For instance the original repeaters can be

removed and the fiber sections spliced to each other in order to build a new unrepeatered cable system Another variant is to replace the original old-generation repeaters by new-generation optical repeaters in order to increase the system capacity Both operations can be carried out aboard the cable ship after the recovery of the cable and while sailing to the new location for redeployment

Reconfiguration of Regenerated Cable Systems

A number of these systems are still in service or being retired and still laid on the seafloor They were originally deployed with optical-electrical-optical regenerators inserted in the cable every 50 to 80 km typically with a bit rate of 280 or 565 Mbs Obviously the optical fibers were specified for single wavelength operation and may not be always suitable for WDM transmission

From a capacity perspective removing the PDH regenerators from a short cable system can lead to a significant capacity increase Using the example of a 330-km 565-Mbs system removing the regenerators and placing two ROPAs at the locations of two previous regenerators (in order to minimize the amount of marine operations) turns the regenerated system into an unrepeatered system with a design capacity exceeding 80 Gbs assuming 10G waves This represents a 150-fold increase in the cable system capacity by simply

removing the old PDH regenerators and inserting two ROPAs

Longer regenerated cable systems can be considered for this type of reconfiguration with the replacement of the regenerators by optical repeaters In this case integration and test are highly critical in order to ensure proper mechanical electrical and monitoring interworking between the original cable and the new optical repeaters while maximizing the system capacity

In conclusion upgrading existing subsea cable systems can be achieved at different levels and applied to virtually all the cable types and generations Challenging upgrades require however an in-depth expertise in order to fully assess and understand the fundamental limitations that govern the ultimate system capacity Challenging upgrades require not only a strong experience in building and managing projects that can be more complex than the deployment of a new cable system but also the capabilities of a full supplier for offering all the products and services that are necessary

Note Illustrations by courtesy of France Telecom Marine

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

26

mentioned above when terminal upgrades were first introduced

Redeployment of Decommissioned Cable Systems

Redeployment of cable systems is another type of wet plant reconfiguration which has been successfully implemented several times in the past three years In addition to the usual motivations for upgrading a cable system the main drivers to cable redeployment are the decommissioning of an old-generation cable and sometimes the legal obligation to recover the phased-out cable from the seabed in combination with need for capacity in another part of the world where thin pipes are sufficient and funding of a new cable would be difficult

Palau National Communications shared their business case for cable relay at Submarine Networks World Singapore 2012 conference For building new international optical connectivity the new cable approach required $40 to 65M CapEx while the alternative cable relay option was estimated to about $30M The cable relay approach will also speed up Palau National Communications project significantly estimated to be in service within one year vs three years for a brand new cable system

In addition to simply redeploy the recovered cable as is there are many variants to this relay approach For instance the original repeaters can be

removed and the fiber sections spliced to each other in order to build a new unrepeatered cable system Another variant is to replace the original old-generation repeaters by new-generation optical repeaters in order to increase the system capacity Both operations can be carried out aboard the cable ship after the recovery of the cable and while sailing to the new location for redeployment

Reconfiguration of Regenerated Cable Systems

A number of these systems are still in service or being retired and still laid on the seafloor They were originally deployed with optical-electrical-optical regenerators inserted in the cable every 50 to 80 km typically with a bit rate of 280 or 565 Mbs Obviously the optical fibers were specified for single wavelength operation and may not be always suitable for WDM transmission

From a capacity perspective removing the PDH regenerators from a short cable system can lead to a significant capacity increase Using the example of a 330-km 565-Mbs system removing the regenerators and placing two ROPAs at the locations of two previous regenerators (in order to minimize the amount of marine operations) turns the regenerated system into an unrepeatered system with a design capacity exceeding 80 Gbs assuming 10G waves This represents a 150-fold increase in the cable system capacity by simply

removing the old PDH regenerators and inserting two ROPAs

Longer regenerated cable systems can be considered for this type of reconfiguration with the replacement of the regenerators by optical repeaters In this case integration and test are highly critical in order to ensure proper mechanical electrical and monitoring interworking between the original cable and the new optical repeaters while maximizing the system capacity

In conclusion upgrading existing subsea cable systems can be achieved at different levels and applied to virtually all the cable types and generations Challenging upgrades require however an in-depth expertise in order to fully assess and understand the fundamental limitations that govern the ultimate system capacity Challenging upgrades require not only a strong experience in building and managing projects that can be more complex than the deployment of a new cable system but also the capabilities of a full supplier for offering all the products and services that are necessary

Note Illustrations by courtesy of France Telecom Marine

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

27

Bertrand Clesca is Head of Global Marketing for Xtera and is based in Paris France Bertrand has over twenty yearsrsquo experience in the optical telecommunications

industry having held a number of research engineering marketing and Sales positions in both small and large organizations

Bertrand joined Xtera in 2004 where his responsibilities included marketing customer interactions and business development for both submarine and terrestrial high-capacity networks in EMEA area before moving to his current Global Marketing position

Bertrand Clesca holds an MSC in Physics and Optical Engineering from Ecole Superieure drsquoOptique Orsay (France) an MSC in Telecommunications from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications Paris (France) and an MBA from Sciences Politiques Paris (France)

Dr Herve Fevrier joined Xtera in 2000 and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer He provides both the strategic and tactical

leadership that leads to the acquisition of new customers development of new products partnerships with vendors and developers of complementary technologies

Prior to Xtera Dr Fevrier spent more than 17 years with Alcatel in a wide variety of responsibilities including Director of the Photonic Networks research unit Sr Director for DWDM Product Development Worldwide VP amp GM Optical Networks Alcatel USA and VP Network and Product Strategy Alcatel Optics Dr Fevrier received his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Paris and he holds a Physics engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris

Dr Joerg Schwartz is responsible as SVP Submarine Turnkey Solutions for Xterarsquos Turnkey Solutions product offering delivering end-

to-end submarine solutions to network operators based on the companyrsquos transmission equipment and project execution expertise Prior to this Joerg has directed the NXT system definition and developed Xterarsquos systems engineering team providing network solution design field and lab trials sales support and systems research Other previous experiences include engineering and operational management roles for Ericsson submarine terminal development for Alcatel and founding an optical components company

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

28

Maximizing Network Capacity Reach amp ValueOver land under sea worldwide

Global Supplier for Subsea Cable SystemsA pioneer in the upgrade of existing submarine cable systems Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for submarine of repeatered or unrepeatered networks starting from the supply of high-performance and reliable Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) to the implementation of global systems

With 100G already in commercial service on a repeatered cable system Xtera can deploy new high-capacity cable systems or upgrading existing ones (by either replacing the existing SLTE or reconfiguring the wet plant)

To discuss how our scalable solutions help our customers minimize cost and maximize revenue for both new and existing cable infrastructures contact Xtera by visiting wwwxteracom

29

Put Your Company on The Map

Coming January 2013

30

Phoenix Participates In Underwater Search For Amelia Earhartrsquos Plane

Pete LeHardy

31

In early July on the 75th anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan mem-

bers of Phoenix International Holdings Inc (Phoenix) set sail from Hawaii in sup-port of a search effort led by The Interna-tional Group for Historic Aircraft Recov-ery (TIGHAR) The target of the search was Amelia Earhartrsquos Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft After years of research TIGHAR theorized that the plane went down near the island of Nikumaroro an atoll roughly 1900 miles southwest of Hawaii Phoe-nixrsquos role was to search one square mile of the seabed from 50 to 4000 feet ndash off the northwest side of the island

To conduct the underwater search Phoe-nix deployed its new Bluefin Robotics built Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwa-ter Vehicle (AUV) and a leased Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Submersible Systems Inc (SSI) The underwater search team consisted of five Phoenix AUV oper-ators ROV technicians two Bluefin AUV technicians and two SSI ROV technicians After a 9 day transit aboard the research vessel Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa (K-O-K) the team arrived at Nikumaroro and com-menced undersea search operations

During 8 days on site the AUV spent 53 hours searching to a maximum depth of 4019 feet Search operations required the AUV to operate 15 meters off the bottom while working in and around extreme sea floor terrain that included deep crevasses and sheer cliffs After each mission the

AUV was recovered aboard the K-O-K and data was reviewed by TIGHAR and Phoenix sonar imagery experts to iden-tify targets for further investigation by the ROV Despite the challenging bottom conditions the Phoenix AUV and ROV team overcame adversity and successfully searched over 12 square miles of the sea floor ndash encompassing the entire planned search area

This extensive underwater search pro-vided valuable AUV sonar imagery and ROV high definition video to support fur-ther study by TIGHAR and other forensic imaging experts ndash perhaps yielding more definitive clues as to the whereabouts of

this famous plane For more information regarding the ongoing investigation and image analysis please visit the TIGHAR website at wwwtigharorg

Phoenix provides manned and unmanned underwater operations design engineer-ing and project management services to clients in the offshore oil amp gas defense and other ocean-interest industries world-wide Expertise is available from six re-gional offices in the areas of wet and dry hyperbaric welding conventional and atmospheric diving robotic systems and tooling Our capabilities support under-water inspection maintenance and repair construction deep ocean search amp recov-ery and submarine rescue

Global expert in cables and cabling systems

Because so much of your performance runs through cables

Erik Rynning Sales amp Project Manager OffshoreldquoWe produced the so far worldrsquos deepest umbilical which was

installed at 2350 metre in the Gulf of Mexicordquo

TelecomRolf BoslashePhone +47 22 88 62 23E-mail rolfboenexanscom

Oil amp GasJon SeipPhone +47 22 88 62 22E-mail jonseipnexanscom

Nexans was the first to manufacture and install a 384 fibre submarine cable Nexans has qualified and installed their URC-1 cable family for fibre counts up to 384 fibres

For further information please contactNexans Norway ASPO Box 6450 EtterstadN-0605 Oslo NorwayPhone +47 22 88 61 00Fax +47 22 88 61 01

scan

pa

rtner Trond

heim Foto SPO

T og G

etty Ima

ges

At submarine depths Nexans goes deeper

31

In early July on the 75th anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan mem-

bers of Phoenix International Holdings Inc (Phoenix) set sail from Hawaii in sup-port of a search effort led by The Interna-tional Group for Historic Aircraft Recov-ery (TIGHAR) The target of the search was Amelia Earhartrsquos Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft After years of research TIGHAR theorized that the plane went down near the island of Nikumaroro an atoll roughly 1900 miles southwest of Hawaii Phoe-nixrsquos role was to search one square mile of the seabed from 50 to 4000 feet ndash off the northwest side of the island

To conduct the underwater search Phoe-nix deployed its new Bluefin Robotics built Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwa-ter Vehicle (AUV) and a leased Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Submersible Systems Inc (SSI) The underwater search team consisted of five Phoenix AUV oper-ators ROV technicians two Bluefin AUV technicians and two SSI ROV technicians After a 9 day transit aboard the research vessel Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa (K-O-K) the team arrived at Nikumaroro and com-menced undersea search operations

During 8 days on site the AUV spent 53 hours searching to a maximum depth of 4019 feet Search operations required the AUV to operate 15 meters off the bottom while working in and around extreme sea floor terrain that included deep crevasses and sheer cliffs After each mission the

AUV was recovered aboard the K-O-K and data was reviewed by TIGHAR and Phoenix sonar imagery experts to iden-tify targets for further investigation by the ROV Despite the challenging bottom conditions the Phoenix AUV and ROV team overcame adversity and successfully searched over 12 square miles of the sea floor ndash encompassing the entire planned search area

This extensive underwater search pro-vided valuable AUV sonar imagery and ROV high definition video to support fur-ther study by TIGHAR and other forensic imaging experts ndash perhaps yielding more definitive clues as to the whereabouts of

this famous plane For more information regarding the ongoing investigation and image analysis please visit the TIGHAR website at wwwtigharorg

Phoenix provides manned and unmanned underwater operations design engineer-ing and project management services to clients in the offshore oil amp gas defense and other ocean-interest industries world-wide Expertise is available from six re-gional offices in the areas of wet and dry hyperbaric welding conventional and atmospheric diving robotic systems and tooling Our capabilities support under-water inspection maintenance and repair construction deep ocean search amp recov-ery and submarine rescue

Global expert in cables and cabling systems

Because so much of your performance runs through cables

Erik Rynning Sales amp Project Manager OffshoreldquoWe produced the so far worldrsquos deepest umbilical which was

installed at 2350 metre in the Gulf of Mexicordquo

TelecomRolf BoslashePhone +47 22 88 62 23E-mail rolfboenexanscom

Oil amp GasJon SeipPhone +47 22 88 62 22E-mail jonseipnexanscom

Nexans was the first to manufacture and install a 384 fibre submarine cable Nexans has qualified and installed their URC-1 cable family for fibre counts up to 384 fibres

For further information please contactNexans Norway ASPO Box 6450 EtterstadN-0605 Oslo NorwayPhone +47 22 88 61 00Fax +47 22 88 61 01

scan

pa

rtner Trond

heim Foto SPO

T og G

etty Ima

ges

At submarine depths Nexans goes deeper

Global expert in cables and cabling systems

Because so much of your performance runs through cables

Erik Rynning Sales amp Project Manager OffshoreldquoWe produced the so far worldrsquos deepest umbilical which was

installed at 2350 metre in the Gulf of Mexicordquo

TelecomRolf BoslashePhone +47 22 88 62 23E-mail rolfboenexanscom

Oil amp GasJon SeipPhone +47 22 88 62 22E-mail jonseipnexanscom

Nexans was the first to manufacture and install a 384 fibre submarine cable Nexans has qualified and installed their URC-1 cable family for fibre counts up to 384 fibres

For further information please contactNexans Norway ASPO Box 6450 EtterstadN-0605 Oslo NorwayPhone +47 22 88 61 00Fax +47 22 88 61 01

scan

pa

rtner Trond

heim Foto SPO

T og G

etty Ima

ges

At submarine depths Nexans goes deeper

33

Reach Reliability and Return on InvestmentThe 3Rrsquos to optimal Subsea architecture

vinay Rathore

34

In 1872 Hans Christian Andersen was one of the first people to recognize that subsea networks were going to be big

He wrote a childrenrsquos book to help educate the world about ldquothe serpent beneath the seardquo Since 1872 though subsea networks have come a long way Subsea operators recognizing the mission critical nature of international communications pride themselves on the ultra-reliability of their network the ability of fiber optic cables to span the entire globe and bring all of us a little closer together This paper will take a deeper look at subsea architecture its evolution recent technological advances and industry best practices that promise to dramatically improve return on investment

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks are designed to exacting specifications and tended to be more expensive The focus on reach and reliability in some cases required custom components and special testing to prove the design could survive the toughest environments reaching the furthest distances The trade-off resulted in a noticeable delay in obtaining the latest technology Many subsea networks still operate with 25 Gbs amp 10 Gbs wavelengths vs their terrestrial counterparts who are in the midst of a rapid shift to 100Gbs wavelengths Migration to volume manufactured solutions were often treated as a trade-off against other critical requirements such as reach and reliability

However recent technological innovations including Photonic Integration Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction and

Programmable Modulation are enabling subsea upgrades with both performance and reliability leveraging the sunk (no pun intended) investment and delivering a lsquostep functionrsquo improvement in the overall network Further ultra-long reach 500G and Terabit super-channels ultra-reliable Photonic Integrated Circuits (field proven to operate at 750M+hours without failure (FIT rate lt15) and intelligent GMPLS control plane enable scale and reliability Also the added ability to seamlessly interoperate with terrestrial networks without the use of back to back transponders further reduces cost and speeds up return on investment

Architecturehellipthat has adapted to the times

Critical elements of any subsea architecture include capacity reach distance reliabilityresilience and return on investment The first three elements are straightforward however the fourth element assumes more than technology it assumes a new subsea paradigm that takes advantage of new technology in such a way that rapid return on investment can be made while sustaining lower operational costs higher levels of integration between subsea and terrestrial networks as well as low cost per Gbs of capacity

An example of that new subsea paradigm could include elements of the following

Architecture that has changed to adapt with the time

Two trends have been identified as behind the scenes drivers in forcing subsea operators to reconsider their subsea networks architectures The first trend is the end-user price declines of International bandwidth With the steep price erosion of international circuits ranging from 10-15 per year subsea network operators have become extremely sensitive to how much their network will costs to own and operate and this has forced a trend away from custom designed and manufactured equipment to volume manufactured equipment as long as it does not impact service reliability

35

The 2nd key trend is increased competition across subsea systems This is a direct result of more countries demanding to connect to more international fiber systems preferably on shorter higher performance routes and for the best possible prices

The results are evident in customer demand for subsea upgrades that must be delivered in shorter intervals with lower prices and demands for faster innovation Many of those innovations will come in the form of advancements that will drive greater reach and capacity per fiber system but will result in a better overall business case Some of those technological innovations are discussed below

Balancing system reach and capacity

Reach in subsea networks is highly dependent on the modulation format Various modulation formats offer different values Modulation formats such as QPSK transmit more power to reach further distance but also require more fiber spectrum as shown in Figure 1 below By contrast 16QAM offers more capacity within the same spectrum but is limited in reach

Figure 1

Optimizing the overall subsea network

requires the ability to choose the modulation format on-demand on a per link basis Programmable modulation changes the business paradigm and speeds deployment through the use of volume manufactured line cards while also reducing the number of modulation specific spares The provisioning model is also simplified as it simply uses point and click to select the modulation format for the best ReachCapacity for every link in the network as shown in figure 2 This ability also enables redeployment of existing hardware or line modules on other parts of the network where a different modulation scheme would be more efficient

Figure 2

Super-channel technology

Super-channel technology is an evolution of DWDM technology in which several optical carriers are combined to create a composite line side signal of the desired capacity and which is provisioned in one operational cycle Beyond operations

super-channels also improve spectrum utilization by allowing tighter channel spacing and guard band elimination resulting in more overall capacity from the fiber asset Further super-channels allow network engineers to keep pace with demand without increasing operational costs Super-channel technology is tightly coupled with coherent modulation allowing the construction of super-channels that can be engineered for any reach dependent upon the proper modulation format chosen

Other dependencies driving the evolution of super-channels include the extension of the current ITU DWDM fixed grid spacing (defined in ITU G6941) with a more flexible grid (ITU standard) to achieve even higher spectral efficiency enabling a gain of up to 25 in net fiber capacity through more efficient spectrum use An example of how 1 Tbs super-channels may be implemented using both QPSK and 16QAM are show in figure 3

Figure 3

Commercial benefits of deploying super-channels is the deployment of pre-provisioned bandwidth In effect only one engineeringprovisioning

13

36

cycle is initiated to deploy large chunks of network capacity This eliminates network engineering and provisioning time associated with customer services which can be upward of 60 days

Coherent Technology

Complex modulation formats also require sophisticated receivers also known as coherent receivers Coherent receivers combine functions such as electronic compensation for accumulated chromatic dispersion Forward Error Correction (Soft-Decision and Hard Decision) and other sophisticated algorithms to ensure proper reception of the high speed signal Utilizing the combination of the programmable modulation and coherent reception network operators can deploy a seamless network solution that operates over metro long-haul and subsea networks

utilizing the same equipment optimized for the appropriate location within the network See figure 4

Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction (SD-FEC)

Soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) for DWDM transmission systems is a recent innovation that enables the increase of capacity and reach of optical links Unlike Hard Decision FEC which chooses ones and zeros to make correction decisions SD-FEC uses probabilities resulting in significantly improved system performance By combining high speed coherent transmission systems with SD-FEC significant coding gain can be achieved compared to Hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) The tradeoff for this improvement is the requirement for higher overhead and hence high transmitted baud

rates which incur some transmission penalties By optimizing the overhead a 3dB coding gain can be achieved effectively doubling reach when compared to enhanced FEC utilized in ITU G709 This is a critical feature that allows 100Gbs subsea fiber systems to span Pacific Ocean distances The coding gain is a trade-off against overhead meaning a higher overhead which utilizes more spectrum

may also offer longer reach the reverse is also true

When combined with FlexCoherentTM

Programmable Modulation formats SD-FEC offers benefits enables the efficient tradeoff between capacity and reach Existing fiber systems can benefit from an SD-FEC upgrade by increasing overall spectral efficiency For example an existing HD-FEC 100Gbs BPSK signal may now be able to operate using QPSK with SD-FEC effectively system doubling capacity in a given spectrum while still maintaining or even extending original reach targets

Opportunities to Maximize Return on Investment (ROI)

Subsea networks have long been considered special for a number of reasons Amongst others they may include the need to

1) Operate in demanding circumstances under the sea repairable only by special ships

2) Be the primary lifeline for many remote countries

3) Operate in any environment including salt water teething sharks and boat anchors

4) Must reach super long distances (10000 km +)

It is these requirements that force subsea fiber systems to be built to exacting specs tested and then re-tested to ensure they

Figure 4

37

work In some cases the limitations have impacted performance raised costs and extended delivery times of subsea network equipment Until recently the limited number of suppliers has been restricted to a few players Today the subsea market is split into lsquonewrsquo providers and lsquoupgradersquo providers New providers being full turnkey cable deployment providers and upgrade providers focusing on maximizing value from the existing wet plant We will examine the lsquoupgradersquo opportunities While there are several areas for ROI improvement as part of a subsea upgrade we will limit our examination to these three

1) Subsea amp Terrestrial network integration

2) Integrating DWDM and OTN Switching

3) Automated amp Shared Mesh Protection

Opportunity 1 ndash SubseaTerrestrial integration

A key value of leveraging terrestrial technology that is matched to subsea

systems is in integration No longer are subsea networks required to sit on an island alone with separate control and management Instead leveraging the coexistence of subsea and terrestrial transponders on the same common platforms in cable landing points services can be provisioned from a terrestrial customer location anywhere on the network to a terrestrial location anywhere else yet traversing a subsea network in between The SLTE sites replace back to back transponders with full photonic integration reducing both power and footprint required without compromising on transmission performances typical in all-optical implementation while also increasing reliability through the elimination of potential points of failure in between See Figure 5 Further through the use of control plane technologies like GMPLS control plane the services can be provisioned on an end to end basis even at the far end as systems to provision all intermediate circuits The value of this level of integration and control extends beyond equipment savings with operational savings as well

Opportunity 2 ndash DWDMSwitching integration

Most subsea networks are built with predominance of simple point to point topologies The challenge with this architecture is the fact that without a secondary aggregation device such as muxponders or an external switch many circuits are underutilized resulting in lower overall network efficiency The ability to integrate switching within the SLTE offers dynamic on-demand add moves and changes to the network allowing the network to operate at optimum capacity at all times Infinera implements a technique known as Bandwidth VirtualizationTM enabling on-demand hitless reconfiguration of large pools of capacity up to 500G The addition of an integrated switch allows multiple client services to be switched and groomed onto a single network circuit at maximum efficiency See Figure 6

Opportunity 3 ndash Automated and Shared Mesh Protection

One of the most critical factors of the subsea infrastructure is the need for reliability Not only are the subsea repairs challenging the mission critical nature of the network cannot be underestimated For example the 2006 quake off southern Taiwan cut eight cables in 16 places leaving China and southeast Asian internet users with no offshore connectivity for two days It took more than a week to restore capacity and months to repair all the cables (Source

Figure 5

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

34

In 1872 Hans Christian Andersen was one of the first people to recognize that subsea networks were going to be big

He wrote a childrenrsquos book to help educate the world about ldquothe serpent beneath the seardquo Since 1872 though subsea networks have come a long way Subsea operators recognizing the mission critical nature of international communications pride themselves on the ultra-reliability of their network the ability of fiber optic cables to span the entire globe and bring all of us a little closer together This paper will take a deeper look at subsea architecture its evolution recent technological advances and industry best practices that promise to dramatically improve return on investment

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks are designed to exacting specifications and tended to be more expensive The focus on reach and reliability in some cases required custom components and special testing to prove the design could survive the toughest environments reaching the furthest distances The trade-off resulted in a noticeable delay in obtaining the latest technology Many subsea networks still operate with 25 Gbs amp 10 Gbs wavelengths vs their terrestrial counterparts who are in the midst of a rapid shift to 100Gbs wavelengths Migration to volume manufactured solutions were often treated as a trade-off against other critical requirements such as reach and reliability

However recent technological innovations including Photonic Integration Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction and

Programmable Modulation are enabling subsea upgrades with both performance and reliability leveraging the sunk (no pun intended) investment and delivering a lsquostep functionrsquo improvement in the overall network Further ultra-long reach 500G and Terabit super-channels ultra-reliable Photonic Integrated Circuits (field proven to operate at 750M+hours without failure (FIT rate lt15) and intelligent GMPLS control plane enable scale and reliability Also the added ability to seamlessly interoperate with terrestrial networks without the use of back to back transponders further reduces cost and speeds up return on investment

Architecturehellipthat has adapted to the times

Critical elements of any subsea architecture include capacity reach distance reliabilityresilience and return on investment The first three elements are straightforward however the fourth element assumes more than technology it assumes a new subsea paradigm that takes advantage of new technology in such a way that rapid return on investment can be made while sustaining lower operational costs higher levels of integration between subsea and terrestrial networks as well as low cost per Gbs of capacity

An example of that new subsea paradigm could include elements of the following

Architecture that has changed to adapt with the time

Two trends have been identified as behind the scenes drivers in forcing subsea operators to reconsider their subsea networks architectures The first trend is the end-user price declines of International bandwidth With the steep price erosion of international circuits ranging from 10-15 per year subsea network operators have become extremely sensitive to how much their network will costs to own and operate and this has forced a trend away from custom designed and manufactured equipment to volume manufactured equipment as long as it does not impact service reliability

35

The 2nd key trend is increased competition across subsea systems This is a direct result of more countries demanding to connect to more international fiber systems preferably on shorter higher performance routes and for the best possible prices

The results are evident in customer demand for subsea upgrades that must be delivered in shorter intervals with lower prices and demands for faster innovation Many of those innovations will come in the form of advancements that will drive greater reach and capacity per fiber system but will result in a better overall business case Some of those technological innovations are discussed below

Balancing system reach and capacity

Reach in subsea networks is highly dependent on the modulation format Various modulation formats offer different values Modulation formats such as QPSK transmit more power to reach further distance but also require more fiber spectrum as shown in Figure 1 below By contrast 16QAM offers more capacity within the same spectrum but is limited in reach

Figure 1

Optimizing the overall subsea network

requires the ability to choose the modulation format on-demand on a per link basis Programmable modulation changes the business paradigm and speeds deployment through the use of volume manufactured line cards while also reducing the number of modulation specific spares The provisioning model is also simplified as it simply uses point and click to select the modulation format for the best ReachCapacity for every link in the network as shown in figure 2 This ability also enables redeployment of existing hardware or line modules on other parts of the network where a different modulation scheme would be more efficient

Figure 2

Super-channel technology

Super-channel technology is an evolution of DWDM technology in which several optical carriers are combined to create a composite line side signal of the desired capacity and which is provisioned in one operational cycle Beyond operations

super-channels also improve spectrum utilization by allowing tighter channel spacing and guard band elimination resulting in more overall capacity from the fiber asset Further super-channels allow network engineers to keep pace with demand without increasing operational costs Super-channel technology is tightly coupled with coherent modulation allowing the construction of super-channels that can be engineered for any reach dependent upon the proper modulation format chosen

Other dependencies driving the evolution of super-channels include the extension of the current ITU DWDM fixed grid spacing (defined in ITU G6941) with a more flexible grid (ITU standard) to achieve even higher spectral efficiency enabling a gain of up to 25 in net fiber capacity through more efficient spectrum use An example of how 1 Tbs super-channels may be implemented using both QPSK and 16QAM are show in figure 3

Figure 3

Commercial benefits of deploying super-channels is the deployment of pre-provisioned bandwidth In effect only one engineeringprovisioning

13

36

cycle is initiated to deploy large chunks of network capacity This eliminates network engineering and provisioning time associated with customer services which can be upward of 60 days

Coherent Technology

Complex modulation formats also require sophisticated receivers also known as coherent receivers Coherent receivers combine functions such as electronic compensation for accumulated chromatic dispersion Forward Error Correction (Soft-Decision and Hard Decision) and other sophisticated algorithms to ensure proper reception of the high speed signal Utilizing the combination of the programmable modulation and coherent reception network operators can deploy a seamless network solution that operates over metro long-haul and subsea networks

utilizing the same equipment optimized for the appropriate location within the network See figure 4

Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction (SD-FEC)

Soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) for DWDM transmission systems is a recent innovation that enables the increase of capacity and reach of optical links Unlike Hard Decision FEC which chooses ones and zeros to make correction decisions SD-FEC uses probabilities resulting in significantly improved system performance By combining high speed coherent transmission systems with SD-FEC significant coding gain can be achieved compared to Hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) The tradeoff for this improvement is the requirement for higher overhead and hence high transmitted baud

rates which incur some transmission penalties By optimizing the overhead a 3dB coding gain can be achieved effectively doubling reach when compared to enhanced FEC utilized in ITU G709 This is a critical feature that allows 100Gbs subsea fiber systems to span Pacific Ocean distances The coding gain is a trade-off against overhead meaning a higher overhead which utilizes more spectrum

may also offer longer reach the reverse is also true

When combined with FlexCoherentTM

Programmable Modulation formats SD-FEC offers benefits enables the efficient tradeoff between capacity and reach Existing fiber systems can benefit from an SD-FEC upgrade by increasing overall spectral efficiency For example an existing HD-FEC 100Gbs BPSK signal may now be able to operate using QPSK with SD-FEC effectively system doubling capacity in a given spectrum while still maintaining or even extending original reach targets

Opportunities to Maximize Return on Investment (ROI)

Subsea networks have long been considered special for a number of reasons Amongst others they may include the need to

1) Operate in demanding circumstances under the sea repairable only by special ships

2) Be the primary lifeline for many remote countries

3) Operate in any environment including salt water teething sharks and boat anchors

4) Must reach super long distances (10000 km +)

It is these requirements that force subsea fiber systems to be built to exacting specs tested and then re-tested to ensure they

Figure 4

37

work In some cases the limitations have impacted performance raised costs and extended delivery times of subsea network equipment Until recently the limited number of suppliers has been restricted to a few players Today the subsea market is split into lsquonewrsquo providers and lsquoupgradersquo providers New providers being full turnkey cable deployment providers and upgrade providers focusing on maximizing value from the existing wet plant We will examine the lsquoupgradersquo opportunities While there are several areas for ROI improvement as part of a subsea upgrade we will limit our examination to these three

1) Subsea amp Terrestrial network integration

2) Integrating DWDM and OTN Switching

3) Automated amp Shared Mesh Protection

Opportunity 1 ndash SubseaTerrestrial integration

A key value of leveraging terrestrial technology that is matched to subsea

systems is in integration No longer are subsea networks required to sit on an island alone with separate control and management Instead leveraging the coexistence of subsea and terrestrial transponders on the same common platforms in cable landing points services can be provisioned from a terrestrial customer location anywhere on the network to a terrestrial location anywhere else yet traversing a subsea network in between The SLTE sites replace back to back transponders with full photonic integration reducing both power and footprint required without compromising on transmission performances typical in all-optical implementation while also increasing reliability through the elimination of potential points of failure in between See Figure 5 Further through the use of control plane technologies like GMPLS control plane the services can be provisioned on an end to end basis even at the far end as systems to provision all intermediate circuits The value of this level of integration and control extends beyond equipment savings with operational savings as well

Opportunity 2 ndash DWDMSwitching integration

Most subsea networks are built with predominance of simple point to point topologies The challenge with this architecture is the fact that without a secondary aggregation device such as muxponders or an external switch many circuits are underutilized resulting in lower overall network efficiency The ability to integrate switching within the SLTE offers dynamic on-demand add moves and changes to the network allowing the network to operate at optimum capacity at all times Infinera implements a technique known as Bandwidth VirtualizationTM enabling on-demand hitless reconfiguration of large pools of capacity up to 500G The addition of an integrated switch allows multiple client services to be switched and groomed onto a single network circuit at maximum efficiency See Figure 6

Opportunity 3 ndash Automated and Shared Mesh Protection

One of the most critical factors of the subsea infrastructure is the need for reliability Not only are the subsea repairs challenging the mission critical nature of the network cannot be underestimated For example the 2006 quake off southern Taiwan cut eight cables in 16 places leaving China and southeast Asian internet users with no offshore connectivity for two days It took more than a week to restore capacity and months to repair all the cables (Source

Figure 5

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

35

The 2nd key trend is increased competition across subsea systems This is a direct result of more countries demanding to connect to more international fiber systems preferably on shorter higher performance routes and for the best possible prices

The results are evident in customer demand for subsea upgrades that must be delivered in shorter intervals with lower prices and demands for faster innovation Many of those innovations will come in the form of advancements that will drive greater reach and capacity per fiber system but will result in a better overall business case Some of those technological innovations are discussed below

Balancing system reach and capacity

Reach in subsea networks is highly dependent on the modulation format Various modulation formats offer different values Modulation formats such as QPSK transmit more power to reach further distance but also require more fiber spectrum as shown in Figure 1 below By contrast 16QAM offers more capacity within the same spectrum but is limited in reach

Figure 1

Optimizing the overall subsea network

requires the ability to choose the modulation format on-demand on a per link basis Programmable modulation changes the business paradigm and speeds deployment through the use of volume manufactured line cards while also reducing the number of modulation specific spares The provisioning model is also simplified as it simply uses point and click to select the modulation format for the best ReachCapacity for every link in the network as shown in figure 2 This ability also enables redeployment of existing hardware or line modules on other parts of the network where a different modulation scheme would be more efficient

Figure 2

Super-channel technology

Super-channel technology is an evolution of DWDM technology in which several optical carriers are combined to create a composite line side signal of the desired capacity and which is provisioned in one operational cycle Beyond operations

super-channels also improve spectrum utilization by allowing tighter channel spacing and guard band elimination resulting in more overall capacity from the fiber asset Further super-channels allow network engineers to keep pace with demand without increasing operational costs Super-channel technology is tightly coupled with coherent modulation allowing the construction of super-channels that can be engineered for any reach dependent upon the proper modulation format chosen

Other dependencies driving the evolution of super-channels include the extension of the current ITU DWDM fixed grid spacing (defined in ITU G6941) with a more flexible grid (ITU standard) to achieve even higher spectral efficiency enabling a gain of up to 25 in net fiber capacity through more efficient spectrum use An example of how 1 Tbs super-channels may be implemented using both QPSK and 16QAM are show in figure 3

Figure 3

Commercial benefits of deploying super-channels is the deployment of pre-provisioned bandwidth In effect only one engineeringprovisioning

13

36

cycle is initiated to deploy large chunks of network capacity This eliminates network engineering and provisioning time associated with customer services which can be upward of 60 days

Coherent Technology

Complex modulation formats also require sophisticated receivers also known as coherent receivers Coherent receivers combine functions such as electronic compensation for accumulated chromatic dispersion Forward Error Correction (Soft-Decision and Hard Decision) and other sophisticated algorithms to ensure proper reception of the high speed signal Utilizing the combination of the programmable modulation and coherent reception network operators can deploy a seamless network solution that operates over metro long-haul and subsea networks

utilizing the same equipment optimized for the appropriate location within the network See figure 4

Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction (SD-FEC)

Soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) for DWDM transmission systems is a recent innovation that enables the increase of capacity and reach of optical links Unlike Hard Decision FEC which chooses ones and zeros to make correction decisions SD-FEC uses probabilities resulting in significantly improved system performance By combining high speed coherent transmission systems with SD-FEC significant coding gain can be achieved compared to Hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) The tradeoff for this improvement is the requirement for higher overhead and hence high transmitted baud

rates which incur some transmission penalties By optimizing the overhead a 3dB coding gain can be achieved effectively doubling reach when compared to enhanced FEC utilized in ITU G709 This is a critical feature that allows 100Gbs subsea fiber systems to span Pacific Ocean distances The coding gain is a trade-off against overhead meaning a higher overhead which utilizes more spectrum

may also offer longer reach the reverse is also true

When combined with FlexCoherentTM

Programmable Modulation formats SD-FEC offers benefits enables the efficient tradeoff between capacity and reach Existing fiber systems can benefit from an SD-FEC upgrade by increasing overall spectral efficiency For example an existing HD-FEC 100Gbs BPSK signal may now be able to operate using QPSK with SD-FEC effectively system doubling capacity in a given spectrum while still maintaining or even extending original reach targets

Opportunities to Maximize Return on Investment (ROI)

Subsea networks have long been considered special for a number of reasons Amongst others they may include the need to

1) Operate in demanding circumstances under the sea repairable only by special ships

2) Be the primary lifeline for many remote countries

3) Operate in any environment including salt water teething sharks and boat anchors

4) Must reach super long distances (10000 km +)

It is these requirements that force subsea fiber systems to be built to exacting specs tested and then re-tested to ensure they

Figure 4

37

work In some cases the limitations have impacted performance raised costs and extended delivery times of subsea network equipment Until recently the limited number of suppliers has been restricted to a few players Today the subsea market is split into lsquonewrsquo providers and lsquoupgradersquo providers New providers being full turnkey cable deployment providers and upgrade providers focusing on maximizing value from the existing wet plant We will examine the lsquoupgradersquo opportunities While there are several areas for ROI improvement as part of a subsea upgrade we will limit our examination to these three

1) Subsea amp Terrestrial network integration

2) Integrating DWDM and OTN Switching

3) Automated amp Shared Mesh Protection

Opportunity 1 ndash SubseaTerrestrial integration

A key value of leveraging terrestrial technology that is matched to subsea

systems is in integration No longer are subsea networks required to sit on an island alone with separate control and management Instead leveraging the coexistence of subsea and terrestrial transponders on the same common platforms in cable landing points services can be provisioned from a terrestrial customer location anywhere on the network to a terrestrial location anywhere else yet traversing a subsea network in between The SLTE sites replace back to back transponders with full photonic integration reducing both power and footprint required without compromising on transmission performances typical in all-optical implementation while also increasing reliability through the elimination of potential points of failure in between See Figure 5 Further through the use of control plane technologies like GMPLS control plane the services can be provisioned on an end to end basis even at the far end as systems to provision all intermediate circuits The value of this level of integration and control extends beyond equipment savings with operational savings as well

Opportunity 2 ndash DWDMSwitching integration

Most subsea networks are built with predominance of simple point to point topologies The challenge with this architecture is the fact that without a secondary aggregation device such as muxponders or an external switch many circuits are underutilized resulting in lower overall network efficiency The ability to integrate switching within the SLTE offers dynamic on-demand add moves and changes to the network allowing the network to operate at optimum capacity at all times Infinera implements a technique known as Bandwidth VirtualizationTM enabling on-demand hitless reconfiguration of large pools of capacity up to 500G The addition of an integrated switch allows multiple client services to be switched and groomed onto a single network circuit at maximum efficiency See Figure 6

Opportunity 3 ndash Automated and Shared Mesh Protection

One of the most critical factors of the subsea infrastructure is the need for reliability Not only are the subsea repairs challenging the mission critical nature of the network cannot be underestimated For example the 2006 quake off southern Taiwan cut eight cables in 16 places leaving China and southeast Asian internet users with no offshore connectivity for two days It took more than a week to restore capacity and months to repair all the cables (Source

Figure 5

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

36

cycle is initiated to deploy large chunks of network capacity This eliminates network engineering and provisioning time associated with customer services which can be upward of 60 days

Coherent Technology

Complex modulation formats also require sophisticated receivers also known as coherent receivers Coherent receivers combine functions such as electronic compensation for accumulated chromatic dispersion Forward Error Correction (Soft-Decision and Hard Decision) and other sophisticated algorithms to ensure proper reception of the high speed signal Utilizing the combination of the programmable modulation and coherent reception network operators can deploy a seamless network solution that operates over metro long-haul and subsea networks

utilizing the same equipment optimized for the appropriate location within the network See figure 4

Soft-Decision Forward Error Correction (SD-FEC)

Soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC) for DWDM transmission systems is a recent innovation that enables the increase of capacity and reach of optical links Unlike Hard Decision FEC which chooses ones and zeros to make correction decisions SD-FEC uses probabilities resulting in significantly improved system performance By combining high speed coherent transmission systems with SD-FEC significant coding gain can be achieved compared to Hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) The tradeoff for this improvement is the requirement for higher overhead and hence high transmitted baud

rates which incur some transmission penalties By optimizing the overhead a 3dB coding gain can be achieved effectively doubling reach when compared to enhanced FEC utilized in ITU G709 This is a critical feature that allows 100Gbs subsea fiber systems to span Pacific Ocean distances The coding gain is a trade-off against overhead meaning a higher overhead which utilizes more spectrum

may also offer longer reach the reverse is also true

When combined with FlexCoherentTM

Programmable Modulation formats SD-FEC offers benefits enables the efficient tradeoff between capacity and reach Existing fiber systems can benefit from an SD-FEC upgrade by increasing overall spectral efficiency For example an existing HD-FEC 100Gbs BPSK signal may now be able to operate using QPSK with SD-FEC effectively system doubling capacity in a given spectrum while still maintaining or even extending original reach targets

Opportunities to Maximize Return on Investment (ROI)

Subsea networks have long been considered special for a number of reasons Amongst others they may include the need to

1) Operate in demanding circumstances under the sea repairable only by special ships

2) Be the primary lifeline for many remote countries

3) Operate in any environment including salt water teething sharks and boat anchors

4) Must reach super long distances (10000 km +)

It is these requirements that force subsea fiber systems to be built to exacting specs tested and then re-tested to ensure they

Figure 4

37

work In some cases the limitations have impacted performance raised costs and extended delivery times of subsea network equipment Until recently the limited number of suppliers has been restricted to a few players Today the subsea market is split into lsquonewrsquo providers and lsquoupgradersquo providers New providers being full turnkey cable deployment providers and upgrade providers focusing on maximizing value from the existing wet plant We will examine the lsquoupgradersquo opportunities While there are several areas for ROI improvement as part of a subsea upgrade we will limit our examination to these three

1) Subsea amp Terrestrial network integration

2) Integrating DWDM and OTN Switching

3) Automated amp Shared Mesh Protection

Opportunity 1 ndash SubseaTerrestrial integration

A key value of leveraging terrestrial technology that is matched to subsea

systems is in integration No longer are subsea networks required to sit on an island alone with separate control and management Instead leveraging the coexistence of subsea and terrestrial transponders on the same common platforms in cable landing points services can be provisioned from a terrestrial customer location anywhere on the network to a terrestrial location anywhere else yet traversing a subsea network in between The SLTE sites replace back to back transponders with full photonic integration reducing both power and footprint required without compromising on transmission performances typical in all-optical implementation while also increasing reliability through the elimination of potential points of failure in between See Figure 5 Further through the use of control plane technologies like GMPLS control plane the services can be provisioned on an end to end basis even at the far end as systems to provision all intermediate circuits The value of this level of integration and control extends beyond equipment savings with operational savings as well

Opportunity 2 ndash DWDMSwitching integration

Most subsea networks are built with predominance of simple point to point topologies The challenge with this architecture is the fact that without a secondary aggregation device such as muxponders or an external switch many circuits are underutilized resulting in lower overall network efficiency The ability to integrate switching within the SLTE offers dynamic on-demand add moves and changes to the network allowing the network to operate at optimum capacity at all times Infinera implements a technique known as Bandwidth VirtualizationTM enabling on-demand hitless reconfiguration of large pools of capacity up to 500G The addition of an integrated switch allows multiple client services to be switched and groomed onto a single network circuit at maximum efficiency See Figure 6

Opportunity 3 ndash Automated and Shared Mesh Protection

One of the most critical factors of the subsea infrastructure is the need for reliability Not only are the subsea repairs challenging the mission critical nature of the network cannot be underestimated For example the 2006 quake off southern Taiwan cut eight cables in 16 places leaving China and southeast Asian internet users with no offshore connectivity for two days It took more than a week to restore capacity and months to repair all the cables (Source

Figure 5

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

37

work In some cases the limitations have impacted performance raised costs and extended delivery times of subsea network equipment Until recently the limited number of suppliers has been restricted to a few players Today the subsea market is split into lsquonewrsquo providers and lsquoupgradersquo providers New providers being full turnkey cable deployment providers and upgrade providers focusing on maximizing value from the existing wet plant We will examine the lsquoupgradersquo opportunities While there are several areas for ROI improvement as part of a subsea upgrade we will limit our examination to these three

1) Subsea amp Terrestrial network integration

2) Integrating DWDM and OTN Switching

3) Automated amp Shared Mesh Protection

Opportunity 1 ndash SubseaTerrestrial integration

A key value of leveraging terrestrial technology that is matched to subsea

systems is in integration No longer are subsea networks required to sit on an island alone with separate control and management Instead leveraging the coexistence of subsea and terrestrial transponders on the same common platforms in cable landing points services can be provisioned from a terrestrial customer location anywhere on the network to a terrestrial location anywhere else yet traversing a subsea network in between The SLTE sites replace back to back transponders with full photonic integration reducing both power and footprint required without compromising on transmission performances typical in all-optical implementation while also increasing reliability through the elimination of potential points of failure in between See Figure 5 Further through the use of control plane technologies like GMPLS control plane the services can be provisioned on an end to end basis even at the far end as systems to provision all intermediate circuits The value of this level of integration and control extends beyond equipment savings with operational savings as well

Opportunity 2 ndash DWDMSwitching integration

Most subsea networks are built with predominance of simple point to point topologies The challenge with this architecture is the fact that without a secondary aggregation device such as muxponders or an external switch many circuits are underutilized resulting in lower overall network efficiency The ability to integrate switching within the SLTE offers dynamic on-demand add moves and changes to the network allowing the network to operate at optimum capacity at all times Infinera implements a technique known as Bandwidth VirtualizationTM enabling on-demand hitless reconfiguration of large pools of capacity up to 500G The addition of an integrated switch allows multiple client services to be switched and groomed onto a single network circuit at maximum efficiency See Figure 6

Opportunity 3 ndash Automated and Shared Mesh Protection

One of the most critical factors of the subsea infrastructure is the need for reliability Not only are the subsea repairs challenging the mission critical nature of the network cannot be underestimated For example the 2006 quake off southern Taiwan cut eight cables in 16 places leaving China and southeast Asian internet users with no offshore connectivity for two days It took more than a week to restore capacity and months to repair all the cables (Source

Figure 5

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

38

August 20 2009 telecomasianet) It is the nature of undersea cables that requires services to be protected in multiple ways Methods of protection should hardware protection multiple fiber protection and most importantly a mesh based network protection capability as defined by the ITU GSMP

Hardware level protection means that in the event of any type of system level failure a redundant line card or alternate circuit path can be engaged Services

level protection must consider all aspects of the service including the backhaul the client port protection and service level management But most importantly incorporating a mesh level protection that allows the network to seek any number of restoration routes in the event of a catastrophic event enables customers that have demanding reliability needs to be restored in times as fast as 50ms by leveraging hardware based mesh restoration See Figure 7

A further f i n a n c i a l benefit is achieved by l e v e r a g i n g the integrated transport and s w i t c h i n g f u n c t i o n s within a single device which e l i m i n a t e s the need for r e d u n d a n t

terminal equipment to allow for shared or backup protection services Since this process is both optimized and fully automated network operators gain the value of full protection and SLA compliance with little extra expense with even more upsell opportunities

Maximizing the Return on Investment (ROI)

Leveraging many of the key technologies above will not only help drive greater network efficiency longer reach and higher reliability but also provide opportunities to increase ROI However maximizing ROI requires the right combination of the above technologies along with the network flexibility to adapt to your changing network and customer needs

It is in this effort that the value of photonic integration becomes critical Photonic integration is proven technology that has been in operation over 750+ million hours without ever experiencing a field failure Further when it comes to combining the above referenced technologies into a high capacity transport and switching platform that does not compromise on either photonic integration is the only way forward For example coherent modulators and receivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching alone can overwhelm a single line card much less a superchannel line card See Figure 8

In fact with the benefit of miniaturization using Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology multiple coherent

Figure 6

Figure 7

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

39

modulatorsreceivers HDSD-FEC and integrated switching can all be combined into a single line card that delivers up to 500 Gbs super-channels today scaling to 1Tbs super-channels in the future Further photonic integration not only utilizes less space but also consumes less power per Gbs delivered

Leveraging a subsea platform that consolidates multiple functions into small high density high reliability unit is only further enhanced with automated management and Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane GMPLS in an industry standard control plane technology that enable point and click service set-up with the ability to establish and reconfigure Switched Network Connections (SNC) as needed to restore service operation

Once SNCrsquos are established the route

they traverse can be protected by pre-determined or calculated as determined by the network based upon the restoration requirements Once SNCrsquos are established they remain permanent unless there is a network change and the circuit is configured to be restored Hardware based GSMP (shared mesh protection) enables sub 50ms restoration even for catastrophic failures As shown in Figure 8

It is this level of automation and reliability that will enable the future unmanned cable landing sites and further drive operational costs down while increasing service capabilities and reliability overall

Summary amp Conclusions

Unlike their terrestrial counterparts subsea networks remain special and demanding The flurry of technological innovation including Photonic Integration Soft-

Decision Forward Error Correction F l e x C o h e re n t T M p r o g r a m m a b l e c o h e r e n t m o d u l a t i o n s u p e r - c h a n n e l s and Shared Mesh Protection (GSMP) all provide critical benefits of improved fiber p e r f o r m a n c e m a x i m u m s p e c t r u m efficiency ultra-

reliability and ultra-long reach which drive profitability and longevity of subsea networks

Combining these innovations in a solution that ensures maximum reach and capacity with the flexibility to select the right technology with robust reliability are critical to maximizing return on investment and ultimately enhancing the lsquoserpentrsquo that transmits bits under the sea

Vinay Rathore brings 20 years of telecom experience across a broad array of technology He has helped some of the worldrsquos largest companies including

Sprint Global One MCI Alcatel and Ciena build amp market their newest products technologies and services Mr Rathorersquos area of expertise includes network engineering operations sales amp marketing in both wireline and wireless systems as well as leading edge network solutions spanning Layer 0 to Layer 3 Mr Rathore holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute as well as an MBA from the University of Texas

Figure 8

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

The Undersea Cable Report 2013From Terabit Consulting

Publication Date September 2012

Intelligent intelligence -go beyond the numbers

The most diligent quan-titative and qualitative analysis of the undersea cable market - 1600 pages of data intel-ligence and forecasts that can be found no-where else

Terabit Consulting ana-lysts led by Director of International Research Michael Ruddy tell you whatrsquos real and whatrsquos not where wersquove been and where wersquore headed

YOUR KEY TO UNDERSTANDING AND HARNESSINGTHE $20 BILLION UNDERSEA MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Undersea Cable Report capitalizes on Terabit Consultingrsquos global on-site experience working with carriers cable operators financiers and governments in over 70 countries on dozens of leading projects (eg AJC BRICS EASSy Hibernia SEAS TBI) - a world of experience at your fingertips in a single resource

For more information visit wwwterabitconsultingcomor email us at infoterabitconsultingcom

or call +1 617 444 8605

The Undersea Cable Report 2013 is your single source of information for top-level decision-making - with the most detailed profiles data market analysis and forecasts available

bull valuableintelligencebull innovativemodelingbull thoughtfulinsightbull globalperspectivebull respectedexpertise

bull Theupgrademarketbull Globalregion-by-regionandroute-by-route

analysisbull Reliabledetailedforecastsbull accuratereliabledata

bull 680+detailedunderseacableprofilesbull Capacitydemandcapacitysupplyand

capacitypricingbull Ownershipsystemsupplyfinancingand

projectcosts

41

Satellite Backhaul The Fibre Alternative

James Barton

42

The term lsquocellular backhaulrsquo covers more now than it did two or three years ago encompassing a far broader range of

technologies that have become more wide-spread including internet services offered by digital devices as well as remote or maritime communications facilitated by small cells

Fibre is often thought of as the go-to tech-nology for backhauling but it isnrsquot always an option ndash particularly in emerging re-gions such as Africa and Latin America where there simply isnrsquot enough fibre in the ground Markets that are undergoing exten-sive growth can often run into this problem and it is in these situations that satellite back-haul becomes a financially viable alternative

In areas that are lacking in fibre infrastruc-ture satellite backhaul has numerous advan-tages over competing technologies such as microwave according to David Furstenburg of Novelsat who points to the area of disas-ter relief as an example Citing the 2011 Japa-nese tsunami he notes that of the four active and four backup cables that connected Japan to the USA six were rendered unusable fol-lowing the disaster

ldquoThere is no other system that will have the resilience of satellite but there are two ma-jor challenges with the technology cost and delay These are the drawbacks but there are a number of ways to overcome themrdquo says Furstenburg

Across the satellite industry Ka-band ser-vices are becoming increasingly common as they significantly lower the cost of band-

width In addition the use of inclined orbits is becoming more widespread particularly in emerging markets

Satellites typically have a 15-year lifespan and towards the end of this its orbit will be-come less stable to use the service there must be a tracking mechanism from the antenna that follows the satellite so that the intensity of the signal doesnrsquot drop

Satellites with inclined orbits typically com-mand far lower prices than newer satel-lites a trial conducted by Novelsat and SES found that it was possible to compete with reduced-cost fibre in Africa via a combina-tion of a high-reliability modem and inclined orbit satellites By adding in a capacity mul-tiplier it becomes possible to reduce prices from around $3000 a month to just $1000

By reducing the costs of backhauling it is possible to transfer the savings to the end user and ndash particularly in emerging markets ndash this typically results in massive uptake As soon as more people adopt the service it starts a cycle of cost reduction

ldquoI believe that using the Ka-Band will drop prices dramaticallyrdquo says Furstenburg ldquoThe only enabler that it will need to win rural in-ternet customers is the data rate that those customers are demandingrdquo

The DVB-S2 satellite standard was widely believed to be so close to its physical limit that it could not be improved in a significant way this resulted in the entire industry shift-ing its focus towards improved compres-sion Data rates are key according to Furst-enburg ndash providing reliable fast internet to rural consumers will require around 1Gbps which has not yet been achieved

ldquoAt the end of the day wersquore a bunch of plumbers providing pipesrdquo he says ldquoWhat arrives through the pipe is down to the con-sumer The major impact of the technology is to reduce the cost of ownership to the opera-tor thereby enabling lower cost services to the end userrdquo

This article reprinted from

42

The term lsquocellular backhaulrsquo covers more now than it did two or three years ago encompassing a far broader range of

technologies that have become more wide-spread including internet services offered by digital devices as well as remote or maritime communications facilitated by small cells

Fibre is often thought of as the go-to tech-nology for backhauling but it isnrsquot always an option ndash particularly in emerging re-gions such as Africa and Latin America where there simply isnrsquot enough fibre in the ground Markets that are undergoing exten-sive growth can often run into this problem and it is in these situations that satellite back-haul becomes a financially viable alternative

In areas that are lacking in fibre infrastruc-ture satellite backhaul has numerous advan-tages over competing technologies such as microwave according to David Furstenburg of Novelsat who points to the area of disas-ter relief as an example Citing the 2011 Japa-nese tsunami he notes that of the four active and four backup cables that connected Japan to the USA six were rendered unusable fol-lowing the disaster

ldquoThere is no other system that will have the resilience of satellite but there are two ma-jor challenges with the technology cost and delay These are the drawbacks but there are a number of ways to overcome themrdquo says Furstenburg

Across the satellite industry Ka-band ser-vices are becoming increasingly common as they significantly lower the cost of band-

width In addition the use of inclined orbits is becoming more widespread particularly in emerging markets

Satellites typically have a 15-year lifespan and towards the end of this its orbit will be-come less stable to use the service there must be a tracking mechanism from the antenna that follows the satellite so that the intensity of the signal doesnrsquot drop

Satellites with inclined orbits typically com-mand far lower prices than newer satel-lites a trial conducted by Novelsat and SES found that it was possible to compete with reduced-cost fibre in Africa via a combina-tion of a high-reliability modem and inclined orbit satellites By adding in a capacity mul-tiplier it becomes possible to reduce prices from around $3000 a month to just $1000

By reducing the costs of backhauling it is possible to transfer the savings to the end user and ndash particularly in emerging markets ndash this typically results in massive uptake As soon as more people adopt the service it starts a cycle of cost reduction

ldquoI believe that using the Ka-Band will drop prices dramaticallyrdquo says Furstenburg ldquoThe only enabler that it will need to win rural in-ternet customers is the data rate that those customers are demandingrdquo

The DVB-S2 satellite standard was widely believed to be so close to its physical limit that it could not be improved in a significant way this resulted in the entire industry shift-ing its focus towards improved compres-sion Data rates are key according to Furst-enburg ndash providing reliable fast internet to rural consumers will require around 1Gbps which has not yet been achieved

ldquoAt the end of the day wersquore a bunch of plumbers providing pipesrdquo he says ldquoWhat arrives through the pipe is down to the con-sumer The major impact of the technology is to reduce the cost of ownership to the opera-tor thereby enabling lower cost services to the end userrdquo

This article reprinted from

Submarine Telecoms Industry Calendar2013

Coming SoonTo A Wall Near You

44

innovativeindependentinspired

44

innovativeindependentinspired

45

Back Reflection by Stewart Ash

Lumps and Bumps

One of the major design challenges for a modern DWDM fibre optic submarine cable system is ensuring that end to end transmission performance is the same for each wavelength The attenuation of fibre differs slightly with each wavelength as does the gain of optical amplifiers and due to manufacturing tolerances no amplifier or piece of fibre is exactly the same as another These small differences are cumulative along a system and so it becomes essential to equalise the discrepancies either at the Terminal Station or for trans-oceanic systems in the submerged plant This need for equalisation is not a modern requirement during the Telephone Era (1950 -1986) wideband equalisation was standard practice and it was a far more complex task than todayrsquos optical equalisation

To illustrate this we will consider perhaps the most successful in terms of sales submarine telephone cable system ever and

how its manufactures went about system equalisation The system in question was the STC Submarine Systems (now Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks) 14Mhz System The system design was based on a 147rdquo (3734mm) diameter coaxial cable with a characteristic impedance of 544Ω repeaters to compensate for the signal loss in the cable were spaced at regular intervals along the cable Each repeater contained power separation filters to separate the transmission signals from the DC power and directional filters to divide the transmission path into Low Band (03 ndash 600MHz) and High Band (800 ndash 137MHz)

The attenuation or power loss of a coaxial cable is proportional to the frequency of the signal transmitted the 14MHz system was designed such that for each repeater span the cable had an attenuation of 45dB at the highest operating frequency of 137MHz under sea bed conditions This resulted in a nominal repeater spacing of 65nm (1206km) Under sea bed conditions is an

important statement because unlike fibre optic cable the attenuation of coaxial cable changes with temperature and hydrostatic pressure This meant that cable sections were manufactured to a specific length in order to have the correct attenuation in a particular location on the sea bed at a specific water depth and sea bottom temperature

The repeater amplifiers were designed to compensate for the loss of the cable plus the loss of the repeater filters Of course it was impossible to make the gain shape of the amplifiers exactly match these losses and due to manufacturing tolerances each repeaterrsquos overall performance was unique This meant that cumulative frequency dependent differences developed section by section along the system The repeater also introduced a secondary transmission problem In order to joint the 147rdquo (3734mm) cable to the repeater the cable had to be tapered down to a 0310 (787mm) diameter tail cable that had a braided outer screen This

46

tapered termination and the repeater itself provided a discontinuity or ldquomismatchrdquo in the transmission line impedance When an electrical signal propagates along a transmission line if it encounters a mismatch a small amount of the signal is reflected back down the transmission line This occurs at the cable repeater interface and the reflected signal travels back along the cable being attenuated until it reaches the earlier repeater and once again a small part of the reflected signal is re-reflected along the cable in the same direction as the primary signal It depends on the phase relationship between the original signal and the double reflected signal as to whether they add or subtract This phase relationship will be slightly different at each frequency and so this phenomenon produces an effect called ldquomismatch ripplerdquo To prevent the build-up of mismatch ripple the lengths of the repeater sections were offset from the nominal in a predetermined pattern

To deal with these variations in transmission performance submerged Equalisers were introduced into the system For the 14MHz this was every 15 repeaters or approximately every 100nm (18553km) of cable The repeater section between repeaters 15 and 16 was reduced by an amount of cable equivalent to 13dB of attenuation at 137MHz The Equaliser was placed mid-section between two nominal 23nm (427km) lengths of cable Once again for long systems mismatch ripple in the Equaliser sections had to

be noted that during the Telephone Era cable sections and repeaters were only joined together during the loading of the cable ship ie System Assembly and Test (SAT) was carried out on the cable ship not in the cable factory ATampT Alcatel Fujitsu and NEC took this approach they measured the individual components did the calculations produced a predicted performance and then designed and built each Equaliser in the factory For a period ATampT introduced some flexibility into its equalisation capability by building an Equaliser that had a limited number of circuits that could be switched into the transmission path during the lay by the use of a complicated system of external magnets that moved ball bearings within the Equaliser housing

STC took a different approach its Equaliser housing could be opened and closed on the cable ship thus giving access to the transmission path at each Equaliser and allowing unique passive circuits made from Inductors (L) Capacitors (C) and Resistors (R) to be designed for each Equaliser Each Equaliser did contain a standard factory built Equaliser to address the main known discrepancies This Equaliser was designed to leave a nominal flat 4dB of excess gain across both bands with an additional cable shaped gain of 3dB 137MHz available for shipboard equalisation

During the laying operation transmission tests of the system were made between

46

be taken into consideration Because of the shorter cable lengths between the Equaliser and the Repeater reflected signals were attenuated less and so the mismatch ripple could be of much greater magnitude To counteract this problem the position of each Equaliser between the repeaters would be offset from the nominal in a predetermined pattern Although these short Equaliser sections made available 13dB of excess gain at 137MHz the attenuation of coaxial cable at lower frequencies is much less and at the bottom of the Low Band there was insufficient excess gain to allow any useful equalisation This problem was overcome by designing the Low Band amplifier to over compensate for the cable losses and so build excess gain over the 15 repeater sections to make available sufficient excess gain for useful equalisation

What has been described so far are the engineering issues that all of the submarine cable manufactures had to address however how STC Submarine Systems differed from the other suppliers is how it went about carrying out the necessary system equalisation

To equalise a system effectively it is necessary to predict its performance on the sea bed this can be done by measuring the performance of individual cable sections and repeaters in the factory add the results together and then applying mathematical formulae to predict performance on the sea bed It should

47

the Equaliser test point on the cable ship and the terminal station The results of these tests were then operated on to predict system performance when the whole Equaliser block (15 repeaters) had been laid This prediction was called the ldquoEqualiser Requirementrdquo To do this it was necessary to know the length of cable already laid the length of cable yet to be laid the number of repeaters laid and yet to be laid the temperature of the cable and repeaters on the ship and the water depth and temperature of the sections of cable still to be laid When tests were carried out at any point in laying of the block there would be a percentage of cable and repeaters on the sea bed another percentage on the ship and depending on the water depth a small amount in transit between the two (the laying catenary) In deep water the catenary could be up to 20nm (3711km) in length Factors that had to be taken into account were the temperature and pressure coefficients of the cable the effects of temperature and pressure changes on the 0310rdquo (787mm) termination as well as its change in characteristic impedance when it was immersed in water All these cable affects had a short time constant of 10 -15 minutes The repeaters also had a small but finite temperature coefficient which had to be taken into consideration When powered the internal temperature of the repeater was 5 ndash 6degC above ambient Repeaters could be at an ambient of 25 ndash 30degC on the ship in deep water the sea bed temperature could be 2degC It took

some time for the internal temperature of the repeater to adjust to ambient as the pressure house created a thermal lag of some 6-8 hours

As can be seen at the beginning of laying an Equaliser block the Equaliser Requirement was only a small percentage actual performance and over 90 prediction However as laying progresses the amount of prediction decreased To ensure that predictions were accurate graphs of the Equaliser Requirement at 6 ndash 8 frequencies in each band were plotted against the amount of cable laid If all was well the prediction for each frequency would remain the same and the graphs parallel to the X axis However if there were errors in any of the assumptions then the graphs would slope up or down This slope could then be extrapolated to as laid position and the differences taken into account in the final Equaliser design

The individual LCR circuits were designed manufactured in clean area conditions and tested individually Then all the circuits were inserted into the Equaliser and tests made through them to the terminal station These final tests were then converted to an Equaliser Requirement before the Equaliser was closed and pressurised The target was to have a final Equaliser Requirement of 000dB at all frequencies within the transmission bands by smoothing out all the lumps and bumps eliminating any steep slopes and achieving an overall performance within

plusmn05dB and a maximum deviation from 000dB no greater than 10dB This target was regularly achieved

In order for the cable ship to plan and maintain a steady laying speed the transmission and Equaliser design team worked to a strict 18 hour design schedule In the first 14 hours detailed transmission measurements were carried the necessary LCR circuits were designed built and tested then the LCR circuits were inserted into the Equaliser which was then closed and pressurised This last process took 2-3hours and this was scheduled to be completed 1 hour before the Equaliser was due to be laid This strict schedule was maintained from one Equaliser to the next throughout the lay The steady laying speed was essential for accurate cable placement at a time when slack control was based on taut wire and limited GPS coverage

Today system equalisation can be carried out in the factory during SAT as there are no significant laying affects to be taken into consideration The system performance in the factory will be very similar to its performance once installed so shipboard system equalisation is another skillblack art that has been consigned to the history books

48

SUBMIT YOUR FREE LISTINGIncluding nearly 150 individual companies this Directory serves as an invaluable tool for anyone looking to familiarize themselves with the submarine industry

The directory is detailed by 11 distinct categories of submarine fiber businesses from analysts to legal support and cable planners to cable suppliers

46

tapered termination and the repeater itself provided a discontinuity or ldquomismatchrdquo in the transmission line impedance When an electrical signal propagates along a transmission line if it encounters a mismatch a small amount of the signal is reflected back down the transmission line This occurs at the cable repeater interface and the reflected signal travels back along the cable being attenuated until it reaches the earlier repeater and once again a small part of the reflected signal is re-reflected along the cable in the same direction as the primary signal It depends on the phase relationship between the original signal and the double reflected signal as to whether they add or subtract This phase relationship will be slightly different at each frequency and so this phenomenon produces an effect called ldquomismatch ripplerdquo To prevent the build-up of mismatch ripple the lengths of the repeater sections were offset from the nominal in a predetermined pattern

To deal with these variations in transmission performance submerged Equalisers were introduced into the system For the 14MHz this was every 15 repeaters or approximately every 100nm (18553km) of cable The repeater section between repeaters 15 and 16 was reduced by an amount of cable equivalent to 13dB of attenuation at 137MHz The Equaliser was placed mid-section between two nominal 23nm (427km) lengths of cable Once again for long systems mismatch ripple in the Equaliser sections had to

be noted that during the Telephone Era cable sections and repeaters were only joined together during the loading of the cable ship ie System Assembly and Test (SAT) was carried out on the cable ship not in the cable factory ATampT Alcatel Fujitsu and NEC took this approach they measured the individual components did the calculations produced a predicted performance and then designed and built each Equaliser in the factory For a period ATampT introduced some flexibility into its equalisation capability by building an Equaliser that had a limited number of circuits that could be switched into the transmission path during the lay by the use of a complicated system of external magnets that moved ball bearings within the Equaliser housing

STC took a different approach its Equaliser housing could be opened and closed on the cable ship thus giving access to the transmission path at each Equaliser and allowing unique passive circuits made from Inductors (L) Capacitors (C) and Resistors (R) to be designed for each Equaliser Each Equaliser did contain a standard factory built Equaliser to address the main known discrepancies This Equaliser was designed to leave a nominal flat 4dB of excess gain across both bands with an additional cable shaped gain of 3dB 137MHz available for shipboard equalisation

During the laying operation transmission tests of the system were made between

46

be taken into consideration Because of the shorter cable lengths between the Equaliser and the Repeater reflected signals were attenuated less and so the mismatch ripple could be of much greater magnitude To counteract this problem the position of each Equaliser between the repeaters would be offset from the nominal in a predetermined pattern Although these short Equaliser sections made available 13dB of excess gain at 137MHz the attenuation of coaxial cable at lower frequencies is much less and at the bottom of the Low Band there was insufficient excess gain to allow any useful equalisation This problem was overcome by designing the Low Band amplifier to over compensate for the cable losses and so build excess gain over the 15 repeater sections to make available sufficient excess gain for useful equalisation

What has been described so far are the engineering issues that all of the submarine cable manufactures had to address however how STC Submarine Systems differed from the other suppliers is how it went about carrying out the necessary system equalisation

To equalise a system effectively it is necessary to predict its performance on the sea bed this can be done by measuring the performance of individual cable sections and repeaters in the factory add the results together and then applying mathematical formulae to predict performance on the sea bed It should

47

the Equaliser test point on the cable ship and the terminal station The results of these tests were then operated on to predict system performance when the whole Equaliser block (15 repeaters) had been laid This prediction was called the ldquoEqualiser Requirementrdquo To do this it was necessary to know the length of cable already laid the length of cable yet to be laid the number of repeaters laid and yet to be laid the temperature of the cable and repeaters on the ship and the water depth and temperature of the sections of cable still to be laid When tests were carried out at any point in laying of the block there would be a percentage of cable and repeaters on the sea bed another percentage on the ship and depending on the water depth a small amount in transit between the two (the laying catenary) In deep water the catenary could be up to 20nm (3711km) in length Factors that had to be taken into account were the temperature and pressure coefficients of the cable the effects of temperature and pressure changes on the 0310rdquo (787mm) termination as well as its change in characteristic impedance when it was immersed in water All these cable affects had a short time constant of 10 -15 minutes The repeaters also had a small but finite temperature coefficient which had to be taken into consideration When powered the internal temperature of the repeater was 5 ndash 6degC above ambient Repeaters could be at an ambient of 25 ndash 30degC on the ship in deep water the sea bed temperature could be 2degC It took

some time for the internal temperature of the repeater to adjust to ambient as the pressure house created a thermal lag of some 6-8 hours

As can be seen at the beginning of laying an Equaliser block the Equaliser Requirement was only a small percentage actual performance and over 90 prediction However as laying progresses the amount of prediction decreased To ensure that predictions were accurate graphs of the Equaliser Requirement at 6 ndash 8 frequencies in each band were plotted against the amount of cable laid If all was well the prediction for each frequency would remain the same and the graphs parallel to the X axis However if there were errors in any of the assumptions then the graphs would slope up or down This slope could then be extrapolated to as laid position and the differences taken into account in the final Equaliser design

The individual LCR circuits were designed manufactured in clean area conditions and tested individually Then all the circuits were inserted into the Equaliser and tests made through them to the terminal station These final tests were then converted to an Equaliser Requirement before the Equaliser was closed and pressurised The target was to have a final Equaliser Requirement of 000dB at all frequencies within the transmission bands by smoothing out all the lumps and bumps eliminating any steep slopes and achieving an overall performance within

plusmn05dB and a maximum deviation from 000dB no greater than 10dB This target was regularly achieved

In order for the cable ship to plan and maintain a steady laying speed the transmission and Equaliser design team worked to a strict 18 hour design schedule In the first 14 hours detailed transmission measurements were carried the necessary LCR circuits were designed built and tested then the LCR circuits were inserted into the Equaliser which was then closed and pressurised This last process took 2-3hours and this was scheduled to be completed 1 hour before the Equaliser was due to be laid This strict schedule was maintained from one Equaliser to the next throughout the lay The steady laying speed was essential for accurate cable placement at a time when slack control was based on taut wire and limited GPS coverage

Today system equalisation can be carried out in the factory during SAT as there are no significant laying affects to be taken into consideration The system performance in the factory will be very similar to its performance once installed so shipboard system equalisation is another skillblack art that has been consigned to the history books

48

SUBMIT YOUR FREE LISTINGIncluding nearly 150 individual companies this Directory serves as an invaluable tool for anyone looking to familiarize themselves with the submarine industry

The directory is detailed by 11 distinct categories of submarine fiber businesses from analysts to legal support and cable planners to cable suppliers

47

the Equaliser test point on the cable ship and the terminal station The results of these tests were then operated on to predict system performance when the whole Equaliser block (15 repeaters) had been laid This prediction was called the ldquoEqualiser Requirementrdquo To do this it was necessary to know the length of cable already laid the length of cable yet to be laid the number of repeaters laid and yet to be laid the temperature of the cable and repeaters on the ship and the water depth and temperature of the sections of cable still to be laid When tests were carried out at any point in laying of the block there would be a percentage of cable and repeaters on the sea bed another percentage on the ship and depending on the water depth a small amount in transit between the two (the laying catenary) In deep water the catenary could be up to 20nm (3711km) in length Factors that had to be taken into account were the temperature and pressure coefficients of the cable the effects of temperature and pressure changes on the 0310rdquo (787mm) termination as well as its change in characteristic impedance when it was immersed in water All these cable affects had a short time constant of 10 -15 minutes The repeaters also had a small but finite temperature coefficient which had to be taken into consideration When powered the internal temperature of the repeater was 5 ndash 6degC above ambient Repeaters could be at an ambient of 25 ndash 30degC on the ship in deep water the sea bed temperature could be 2degC It took

some time for the internal temperature of the repeater to adjust to ambient as the pressure house created a thermal lag of some 6-8 hours

As can be seen at the beginning of laying an Equaliser block the Equaliser Requirement was only a small percentage actual performance and over 90 prediction However as laying progresses the amount of prediction decreased To ensure that predictions were accurate graphs of the Equaliser Requirement at 6 ndash 8 frequencies in each band were plotted against the amount of cable laid If all was well the prediction for each frequency would remain the same and the graphs parallel to the X axis However if there were errors in any of the assumptions then the graphs would slope up or down This slope could then be extrapolated to as laid position and the differences taken into account in the final Equaliser design

The individual LCR circuits were designed manufactured in clean area conditions and tested individually Then all the circuits were inserted into the Equaliser and tests made through them to the terminal station These final tests were then converted to an Equaliser Requirement before the Equaliser was closed and pressurised The target was to have a final Equaliser Requirement of 000dB at all frequencies within the transmission bands by smoothing out all the lumps and bumps eliminating any steep slopes and achieving an overall performance within

plusmn05dB and a maximum deviation from 000dB no greater than 10dB This target was regularly achieved

In order for the cable ship to plan and maintain a steady laying speed the transmission and Equaliser design team worked to a strict 18 hour design schedule In the first 14 hours detailed transmission measurements were carried the necessary LCR circuits were designed built and tested then the LCR circuits were inserted into the Equaliser which was then closed and pressurised This last process took 2-3hours and this was scheduled to be completed 1 hour before the Equaliser was due to be laid This strict schedule was maintained from one Equaliser to the next throughout the lay The steady laying speed was essential for accurate cable placement at a time when slack control was based on taut wire and limited GPS coverage

Today system equalisation can be carried out in the factory during SAT as there are no significant laying affects to be taken into consideration The system performance in the factory will be very similar to its performance once installed so shipboard system equalisation is another skillblack art that has been consigned to the history books

48

SUBMIT YOUR FREE LISTINGIncluding nearly 150 individual companies this Directory serves as an invaluable tool for anyone looking to familiarize themselves with the submarine industry

The directory is detailed by 11 distinct categories of submarine fiber businesses from analysts to legal support and cable planners to cable suppliers

48

SUBMIT YOUR FREE LISTINGIncluding nearly 150 individual companies this Directory serves as an invaluable tool for anyone looking to familiarize themselves with the submarine industry

The directory is detailed by 11 distinct categories of submarine fiber businesses from analysts to legal support and cable planners to cable suppliers

49

PTC1320-23 January 2013Honolulu USAWebsite

SubOptic 201322-25 April 2013Paris FranceWebsite

ICPC21-23 May 2013Miami USAWebsite

Submarine Cable Forum4-5 November 2013Miami USAWebsite

Conferences

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by Kevin G Summers

SubTel Forum has the best readers Im not saying that to flatter you or to encourage you to buy advertising

Its my way of saying thank you

As you are probably aware we released the fourth issue of our Submarine Cable Almanac last week If youve read it you can imagine the countless hours of research that went into the book Mistakes unfortunately are made Thats when our readers step up

I want to thank Stewart Ash Derek Cassidy Willy Davidson Martha Etsibah John Hibbard Takashi Kodama Larry Schwartz Ras Scollay Horace Sookdeo and Christian von der Ropp for submitting corrections to previous editions of our Almanac and John McLean and Petroc Wilton for submitting changes after the release of Issue 4 These

changes will be incorporated into our next edition due early next year

Did you see an error in the Almanac What about on our Submarine Cable Map While we may seem superhuman here at SubTel Forum we do make mistakes If you find one please contact me and I will see that it is fixed

As always thanks for reading

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