Expect $4 Billion in New Subsea Cable Projects Annually in Coming Years: Analyst
Roughly $4 billion worth of submarine cable projects worldwide are expected annually for the next three or so years, TeleGeography analyst Lane Burdette said Thursday. Speaking on the TeleGeography Explains the Internet podcast, Burdette said there are more than 70…
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systems planned for the next several years. Who builds those networks has changed over the past 15 years, she noted: Around 2010, internet backbone providers such as AT&T used 75% of international capacity and were the builders of most subsea cable projects. They often collaborated on those projects, pooling costs and splitting the capacity, Burdette said. Today, edge providers are using 75% of that international capacity and often are building submarine cable systems by themselves to meet their massive bandwidth needs, instead of in consortia, she said. Burdette added that a trans-Atlantic system of 7,000 kilometers could cost $250 million, while a trans-Pacific system could cost $400 million.