Record undersea cable starts herald future growth
A record amount of undersea fiber-optic cable announcements in 1996 indicates intense activity in this market over the next few years, according to a new study released by kmi Corp., Newport, RI. Planned system installations for 1998 and 1999 will be more than 100,000 route-km each year, according to 1997 Worldwide Summary of Fiberoptic Undersea Systems. This represents almost twice the amount of undersea cable that will be installed this year, says kmi.
Last year saw the announcement of plans for new systems totaling 237,000 route-km over the next seven years. Overall, the market for undersea cable through 2003 should average between 65,000 route-km and 75,000 route-km each year, according to the report. A need for redundant systems for high-capacity circuit growth in the Internet and an increase in global competition fueled by deregulation will spur this growth, according to Gayatri Rampal, the kmi analyst who directed the study.
The report estimates the market for repeatered undersea fiber systems scheduled to be installed between 1997 and 2003 will be $15.15 billion. These systems will proliferate most strongly in the Pacific and Atlantic regions of the world, while interregional systems will be equally plentiful. Meanwhile, unrepeatered systems will total $2.85 billion, with more than half of that activity centered in Southeast Asia.
More information about the report can be obtained from kmi, America`s Cup Ave. at 31 Bridge St., Newport, RI 02840; phone (401) 849-6771; fax (401) 847-5866; e-mail [email protected]