Though we live in an increasingly wireless world, that connectivity depends on wires under the ocean.

Subsea or submarine cables are fiber optic cables that connect countries across the world via cables laid on the ocean floor. These cables – often thousands of miles in length – are able to transmit huge amounts of data rapidly from one point to another.

 

Global reliance on high-speed telecommunications is higher than it has ever been before as consumers and businesses rely on telecommunications and the internet to support financial transactions, as well as transfer massive amounts of data and internet traffic across the world at incredible speeds. These cables are estimated to transmit over $10 trillion of data across a range of industries including international banking, commercial trade, defense data, as well as supporting consumer internet use.

 

According to a 2019 report by StableSeas, commercial undersea cables transmit 97% of this internet and telecommunications data. With such heavy reliance on the technology, there’s no denying that submarine cabling is supporting the global economy, and an outage could have catastrophic consequences. 

TeleGeography reported that as of 2020, there were over 1.2 million km of submarine cables in service globally. Building, activating, and maintaining these submarine cable networks presents unique challenges associated with accessibility, long distances, and constant exposure to the elements. As such, throughout the life cycle of a submarine cable network, it is critical to use the best test and monitoring tools available to maximize transmission capacity and network availability.

How Submarine Networks Differ from those On-Land

Both terrestrial and submarine networks make use of similar technologies such as optical fibers and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, however, the requirements of submarine cables are vastly different to those of terrestrial cables. Laying submarine cables, troubleshooting issues, and repairing and upgrading the networks is significantly more expensive and more time consuming. The reliability of submarine cable networks is crucial, as fixing issues can take days or even weeks due to a number of factors. Firstly, there is limited availability of adequately equipped ships globally. In addition, it takes a significant amount of time to reach the location of the issue by boat. Terrestrial networks on the other hand, can most often be fixed within a few hours or at the most, a couple of days.  

Due to the complexity of repair and replacement of the cables, submarine networks are designed to reach an expected lifespan of 25 years, with all components required to meet high standards of safety. The requirements for terrestrial cable networks are a lot less rigid. 

Why Testing Subsea Networks is Critical

As the primary network infrastructure for global telecommunications, submarine cables often transmit more data than on-land fiber networks. As such, remote monitoring and testing of these fiber cables is crucial. In addition, the demand for bandwidth and reliance on telecommunications is ever-increasing, so it is critical for providers to prevent outages and ensure reliability and performance.

However, both pre-and post-deployment testing is more complex for submarine fiber optics due to the unique challenges of the environment. Accessing submarine cables is particularly challenging and the lengths of fiber optic cables often span hundreds or in some cases, thousands of kilometers between continents. This makes it more difficult to train engineers to perform the necessary tasks and adds to the complexity of servicing the networks.

 

In addition, the fiber optic cables that are used in submarine networks are designed for the intolerant under-sea environment. They are high performance cables developed to reduce loss of signal and deliver the best transmission possible over expansive distances. Submarine fiber optic cables provide significantly lower signal loss/attenuation in comparison to standard communication fibers at a maximum 0.15db/km loss compared to 0.18db/km loss for standard fiber optics. With advanced performance and functionality, specialty submarine fibers are much more expensive than on-ground fiber optic cables.

 

It is important that all players in the submarine fiber technology network, such as telecom, internet, and network companies, have specialized engineering teams that are comprehensively trained and educated in submarine cabling systems. These teams should ensure that the systems and devices they have in place are meticulously tested and certified before the actual deployment and monitored continuously after deployment. 

Fiber Testing for Submarine Networks

Fiber testing includes the processes, tools, and standards used to test fiber optic components, fiber links, and deployed fiber networks. It is vital to have the correct instruments for testing and monitoring due to the environment and conditions within which the cables are situated.

Fiber optics have become the primary method of transmitting telecommunications and internet data. With the increasing complexity of fiber optic applications, such as submarine networks, there is a need for advanced technician training, as well as versatile, user-friendly test solutions and a robust and continuous testing process.

VIAVI Solutions has a range of testing and monitoring tools designed specifically to handle all aspects of the submarine cable network, from the building stage right through to activation and monitoring. Protect and monitor the submarine network with Viavi’s end-to-end solutions for submarine cable networks.

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