This global network of undersea cables provides the high-bandwidth connections needed for a wide range of activities vital for our modern society, from financial transactions to global communications or international scientific cooperation. If network operators have traditionally been the main investors in undersea cables, content providers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook) are also expanding their investments in this sector to ensure the interconnection of their data centers. Currently, the four largest suppliers are Alcatel Submarine Networks (France), SubCom (United States), NEC (Japan), and newcomer Huawei Marine Networks (China), whose market share has progressively risen to 10 percent. The planning, production, deployment, and maintenance of subsea cables are almost entirely in the hands of the private sector. Nonetheless, these polar cables still face significant technical challenges and are not credible alternative routes yet. From a more forward-looking perspective, Europe to Asia Arctic routes are increasingly explored as they offer dramatically shorter routes. Other major routes are those connecting Europe to Asia (through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal) as well as Asia with the United States (through the Pacific Ocean). Europe relies heavily on these cables as a majority of its data is stored in data centers located in the United States. The Euro-Atlantic area is the oldest undersea cable route and carries traffic between the two biggest economic hubs with dozens of cables, the majority of which are between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
2021 submarine cable map full#
A number of measures could be taken by allies to effectively protect subsea cables harnessing the full potential of their bilateral cooperations, NATO, and the European Union, in close coordination with the private sector. However, despite the proliferation of public statements underlining the importance of protecting them, collective action to enhance their security has so far been lacking. There are approximately more than 400 active cables worldwide covering 1.3 million kilometers (half a million miles).Īfter the October meeting of allied defense ministers, and in the months since, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) underscored the need for the alliance to monitor and protect this critical infrastructure. In comparison with satellites, subsea cables provide high capacity, cost-effective, and reliable connections that are critical for our daily lives. Sometimes described as the “world’s information super-highways,” undersea cables carry over 95 percent of international data. To support ocean planning activities pursuant to the Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States, the Energy Policy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.In October 2020, allied defense ministers received a confidential report on a pressing challenge that often receives less attention than it is due: the vulnerability of transatlantic undersea cables. 30 CFR 585.301 defines a minimum 100-foot-wide right of way grant on each side of a cable. A submarine cable area may contain one or more physical cables.
In the offshore, they are placed directly on the seabed.
In the nearshore, cables are routinely buried below the seabed. The geographic footprint for each cable may vary and is dependent on the original source data. The majority of these cables are for telecommunications, and the remaining are for power transmission. These data show the general location of commercial and research submarine cables within U.S.
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