What Network Are You On?
Internet data traffic continues to escalate as the Internet becomes more and more integrated into enterprises and consumers daily activities. With added growth of mobile Internet usage, which is expected to multiply 13 times by 2017, service providers are increasingly requiring faster, higher capacity, diversely connected backbone networks.
Most of the business activities of any type of international enterprises rely heavily on being interconnected internationnaly via the Internet. Submarine cable systems are the cornerstone of the Internet.
There are many important factors to take into account when selecting a new submrine networks provider or re-evaluating your existing one. By selecting the correct provider, you can minimize the impact of disruptions to your critical business operations and improve the quality of your customer product or service offerings. Below, Sea Fibre Networks have outlined five important factors to take into account when evaluating submarine network providers:
1. Design – Designing a robust cable route that will protect the cable from seabed aggression or anchor damage requires specific experience in marine engineering. Carrying out detailed marine surveys is fundamental for route design with the outputs from the survey utilised to ensure optimum burial.
2. Installation – Proper installation is the foundation for any sub-sea cable system. It is vital that the cable achieves the designed burial and that free-spans are avoided, particularly in areas of fishing and shipping activities. Avoiding mobile bedforms on the seabed is also of great importance to avoid exposure of the cable in the medium to long term.
3. Commissioning – This should include post lay inspection and burial. Detailed baseline test data should be obtained for each fibre on the cable so that any degradation or fault can be monitored and appropriate action taken. Compilation, storage and updating of as –built records are vital tools for the successful maintenance of the cable over its lifespan and indeed ultimately for decommissioning.
4. O&M – In order to protect the investment of an installed sub-sea cable, operators must undertake a comprehensive operations and maintenance regime. This can include cable awareness programmes, fisheries liaison, coast guard liaison, AIS monitoring and fibre monitoring amongst others. A proactive approach is far better that a reactive approach to a cable hit.
5. Future Strategy – This involves the ability to meet customer demands and grow with your customer. For example, SFN’s long-term vision is to be one of the world’s foremost independent carrier-neutral cable providers. As dependency grows for sub-sea communications we work with customers to deliver sub-sea solutions in other territories while remaining at the linchpin of the solution.
Don’t let bandwidth constraints and legacy systems paralyse your business. Call Sea Fibre Networks today on: +353 1 6624399. Speak to one of our experienced engineers about your network requirements now or visit our Solution Generator on our METRO2C Alliance website.