New undersea cable developments and satellite services: toward complementary coexistence in the 21st Century

摘要

A new generation of technologically advanced undersea cable systems that provide dramatic increases in capacity, with concomitant decreases in per-circuit costs is now being deployed. At the same time, a new generation of global satellite systems is looming over the horizon, promising to provide a diverse array of ubiquitous services to end users. The dramatic changes in undersea cable and satellite technologies have been accompanied by equally dramatic changes in our notions regarding the coexistence of what once were viewed as competing technologies. In the past, coexistence was characterized by uneasy and internecine competition for routes and revenues. In this paper, we will discuss the new reality, in which coexistence of satellite and undersea calbe systems is based on making best use of the unique, complementary capabilities of each technology in a diverse and rapidly-growing market. We will discuss the need to establish a framework for interworking, in order that we may most efficiently develp the Global Information Infrastructure (GII), in an environment of mutual cooperation and collaboration.