How does the submarine cable industry ensure that the global communications network is reliable?
Submarine cable systems are designed to be very reliable and have several redundant features. Notwithstanding this, the submarine cable operators are constantly monitoring the performance of their systems and looking for opportunities to improve the reliability of the network. Records are kept to allow the owners and operators to make design and/or operational changes as may be necessary to protect the systems. For example: the migration of fishing into deeper water has obliged the submarine cable industry to develop techniques for protection of its systems in deeper water. Any wide scale changes in the infrastructure has to be carefully considered for cost (to the customer), performance impact and market compatibility. In other industries that have responded to new threats (such as airlines / airports, ports, shipping companies, chemical plants, etc) there has often been a combined government – industry effort to determine a suitable course of action.
