The Naked Truth about Submarine Cables! By Amr Eid Chief Commercial Officer
Agenda Covered Geographical Area: West Africa, Europe, Middle East, India, up to the west Coast of Australia Key submarines in that region Highlight of infrastructure upgrading. Snapshot of new project proposed. Introducing newopportunities.
Overview 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Middle East and North Africa cables snapshot Submarine Network Name RFS Year Length (km) Lit Capacity (Gbps) Max Capacity (Gbps) EUROPA* (Cyprus and Lebanon) 2015 0 0 ALASIA* (Cyprus Syria) 2014 0 0 Middle East North Africa (MENA) Cable System/Gulf Bridge International (GBICS) 2013 8000 1180 9800 GBICS/MENA Cable System 2012 1000 5280 MedNautilus Submarine System 2013 7000 1340 30400 Tata TGN-Gulf 2012 4031 760 2560 OMRAN/EPEG Cable System 2013 600 550 3200 Tamares North 2012 345 70 42000 Pishgaman Oman Iran (POI) Network 2012 400 60 4800 Jonah 2012 2297 0 12800 Europe India Gateway (EIG) 2011 15000 700 2880 Saudi Arabia-Sudan-2 (SAS-2) 2011 330 0 0 IMEWE 2010 12091 3660 9600 The East African Marine System (TEAMS) 2009 4900 120 1280 SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia 2009 15000 0 0 FLAG FALCON 2006 10300 390 6400 Transworld (TW1) 2006 1300 60 1280 SeaMeWe-4 2005 20000 3590 6400 Kuwait-Iran 2005 380 2.5 480 Qatar-UAE Submarine Cable System 2004 100 30 80 Saudi Arabia-Sudan-1 (SAS-1) 2003 333 10 1280 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 Lev Submarine System 1999 2600 165 540 Fiber Optic Gulf (FOG) 1998 1300 60 0 FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) 1997 28000 440 4680 Aletar 1997 787 0 0 BERYTAR 1997 134 0 0 CADMOS 1995 230 210 3200 UGARIT 1995 239 90 3200 Aden-Djibouti 1994 266 0 0 CIOS 1994 250 0 0 UAE-Iran 1992 170 0 0 *Proposed Cables
Middle East cables (1/2) Submarine Networks Since 2010, IMEWE, Europe-India Gateway, Hawk, TE North, TGN-Gulf, Gulf Bridge, Jonah, and Loukkos have all boosted the amount of submarine cable capacity serving North African and Middle Eastern countries Libya International Telecom s Silphium cable, launched in early 2013, provides additional capacity between Libya and Greece having potential capacity of 1.2Tbps Launched in February 2012, Tata Communications TGN-Gulf cable links Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. to a branching unit on the SEACOM/TGN-Eurasia cable Also in early 2012, Gulf Bridge International extended a leg of its cable to Al-Faw, Iraq. This extension represents Iraq s first direct connection to an international submarine cable. Reliance Globalcom landed the older Falcon cable in Al-Faw in July 2012 Proposed Submarine Cables Algerie Telecom in the process of building a 500-kilometer cable between Oran, Algeria and Valencia, Spain estimated at $16million SeaMeWe-5 cable - essentially spanning similar ground as SeaMeWe-3 and SeaMeWe-4, from Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Western Europe Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) cable headed by Telecom Egypt, is a similar project. Like all cables that run from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, these would have a terrestrial span in Egypt Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) cable would avoid Egypt. BBG would run from Malaysia to Oman via Sri Lanka and India and connect in Oman to the terrestrial EPEG system. EPEG would then provide a diverse route to Europe, avoiding Egypt. Bay of Bengal Cable AAE-1 Cable (Proposed cable routes)
Middle East cables (2/2) Terrestrial Networks JADI - The Jeddah-Amman-Damascus-Istanbul (JADI) network that links Saudi Arabia and Turkey via Jordan and Syria was launched in July 2010. The cable was reportedly out of service as of early 2013 due to the ongoing civil war in Syria RCN - The Regional Cable Network (RCN) is another terrestrial link meant to function as an alternative route to the submarine cable networks crossing the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The system, while similar to JADI, will be considerably longer, stretching approximately 4,000 kilometers from the U.A.E. to Istanbul via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. RCN is slated to provide 2.4 Tbps of initial capacity. The system was due to begin service by late 2012, but is delayed due to the civil war in Syria EPEG Omantel, Telecommunications Infrastructure Company of Iran, Cable & Wireless Worldwide (now Vodafone), Rostelecom, and Delta Telecom developed a new Europe Persia Express Gateway (EPEG) cable which links Frankfurt to Oman via Russia and Iran. The system entered service in January 2013. As part of the project, Omantel built a new submarine cable linking the cities of Barka, Diba, and Khasab in Oman with Jask, Iran GBICS Gulf Bridge International (GBI) has integrated a terrestrial link into its submarine network to provide route diversity for its customers. The GBI submarine cable spans the Persian Gulf and links up with the MENA cable to provide connectivity to the Mediterranean via Egypt. In late 2012, however, GBI inaugurated a terrestrial route from its landing at Al-Faw through Iraq and Turkey into Europe. This allows GBI to offer Asia-Europe route diversity that avoids Egypt MEETS (proposed) consortium of Middle Eastern operators, including du, Vodafone Qatar, Zajil, and Zain, has announced plans for a terrestrial route connecting to Europe. The system, known as the Middle East-Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS), would initially provide connectivity between the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait over a fiber pair acquired on the GCC Interconnection Authority s power grid. The first phase will be ready for service in early 2015 at a cost of $36 million. A second phase of the network would extend connectivity to Turkey via Iraq
Middle East Traffic Flows Middle Eastern International Internet Bandwidth by Region Region Gbps Percentage Middle East 242 6% Africa 26 1% Asia 268 6% Europe 3,677 85% U.S. & Canada 99 2% Middle East Total 4,312 Synopsis: Majority of Bandwidth from the Middle East continues to flow to Europe (85%) Turkey s international Internet bandwidth amounted to 60 percent of the total for the Middle East with 2.6 Tbps Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. continued to experience rapid increases, and have emerged as major Internet hubs in the region Between 2009 and 2013, international Internet capacity increased 10-fold to Saudi Arabia and 7-fold to the U.A.E. Outlook: New efforts to establish carrier-neutral colocation and internet exchange facilities With a more vibrant local market for IP transit and local content hosting, a potential reduced dependence on individual pipe and port transactions with Europe Along with reducing bandwidth prices, these structural changes may foster an IP transit marketplace that simply didn t exist before in the Middle East.
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Africa cables snapshot RFS Length Lit Capacity Max Capacity Submarine Network Name Year (km) (Gbps) (Gbps) South Atlantic Express (SAEx)* 2015 10350 0 0 WASACE Africa* 2015 9934 0 0 South Atlantic Cable System (SACS)* 2014 6500 0 0 MENA Cable System/Gulf Bridge International 2013 8000 1180 9800 Silphium 2013 425 70 1200 Algeria-Spain 2013 500 0 0 Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) 2012 17000 200 5120 West African Cable System (WACS) 2012 14916 500 5120 Loukkos 2012 187 80 1280 Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 (LION2) 2012 2700 0 1280 Seychelles to East Africa System (SEAS) 2012 1930 0 640 Libreville-Port Gentil Cable 2012 198 20 40 TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros 2011 3634 1010 36000 Europe India Gateway (EIG) 2011 15000 700 2880 Hawk 2011 3400 100 2720 Ceiba-1 2011 287 0 0 Saudi Arabia-Sudan-2 (SAS-2) 2011 330 0 0 Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy) 2010 10500 190 11800 IMEWE 2010 12091 3660 9600 Main One 2010 7000 130 4960 GLO-1 2010 9800 50 2560 HANNIBAL System 2009 178 40 9600 Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) 2009 1060 20 1280 The East African Marine System (TEAMS) 2009 4900 120 1280 SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia 2009 15000 0 0 Angola Domestic Network System (ADONES) 2008 1600 0 0 Atlas Offshore 2007 1634 40 320 FLAG FALCON 2006 10300 390 6400 SeaMeWe-4 2005 20000 3590 6400 Med Cable Network 2005 1300 20 1280 RFS Length Lit Capacity Max Capacity Submarine Network Name Year (km) (Gbps) (Gbps) Saudi Arabia-Sudan-1 (SAS-1) 2003 333 10 1280 SAFE 2002 13500 440 440 SAT-3/WASC 2002 14350 340 340 ALPAL-2 2002 312 10 160 Atlantis-2 2000 8500 40 160 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 Italy-Libya 1998 570 40 120 FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) 1997 28000 440 4680 Aletar 1997 787 0 0 Trapani-Kelibia 1995 209 32.5 42.5 Estepona-Tetouan 1994 113 63 63 Aden-Djibouti 1994 266 0 0 Eurafrica 1992 3100 0 0 *Proposed Cables
Africa cables (1/2) Submarine Networks For years, submarine capacity to West Africa had been provided almost exclusively by the consortium-owned, expensive and limited SAT-3 cable system, stretching from South Africa to Portugal Main One launched service in July 2010 with a 7,000-kilometer cable connecting Nigeria and Ghana to Portugal Glo-1 launched in October 2010 and connects Nigeria and Ghana to the United Kingdom The West African Cable System (WACS) consortium cable entered service in May 2012 and links South Africa to the U.K., connecting several West African countries along the way. The France Telecom-led Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable launched service in December 2012 and connects France and Portugal with Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome. The cable may be extended to South Africa in the future with additional landings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Namibia. Plans finally came to fruition in July 2009 with the completion of the SEACOM cable. Further capacity became available upon completion of The East African Marine System (TEAMS) in October of the same year. Another major project, the Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASSy), came online in July 2010. The recent submarine cable builds along the East African coast have turned Kenya into a regional submarine cable hub. Four cables now land in Mombasa (SEACOM, TEAMS, EASSy, and LION2 between Kenya and Mayotte). Proposed Cables With a large number of new cables now in service along both coast of Africa, new projects are focused on alternate routes. Angola Cables and Telebras are planning to build the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) between Angola and Brazil. Angola Cables is a consortium, comprised of incumbent Angola Telecom, ISPs MSTelcom and Movicel, and mobile operators Unitel and Startel. SACS is scheduled to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2014. Another cable is planned for the South Atlantic as well. South African investment group efive is planning the South Atlantic Express (SAEx) cable linking South Africa and Brazil with a branch to St. Helena. efive hope to have the cable in service by the first quarter of 2015. South Atlantic Cable System South Atlantic Express Cable (Proposed cable routes)
Africa cables (2/2) Terrestrial Networks In January 2013, the government of South Sudan stated its intention to deploy a fiber optic network connecting the capital Juba with submarine cables in east Africa. Internet service in the new country is currently provided almost exclusively via satellite, and terrestrial fiber links are expected to vastly reduce costs and improve reliability In June 2010 a joint declaration was signed by Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria for the rollout of a 4,500-kilometer terrestrial fiber-optic cable from Algiers via Zinder (Niger) to Abuja (Nigeria). It is scheduled for completion in 2013. Construction of a 200-kilometer missing link of the Trans-Sahara Highway from Assamaka (Algeria) to Arlit (Niger) is also scheduled to begin in 2013 Ethiopia state-owned incumbent (and monopoly) operator Ethio Telecom built a national fiber backbone in 2008. The 10,000-kilometer network fans out from the capital Addis Ababa and connects 78 towns with a capacity of STM-1, 46 towns with a capacity of STM-16, and nine towns with a capacity of 10 Gbps. Ethio Telecom has international connectivity through SEACOM via Djibouti Tanzania the government first launched its National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) in 2010, and finished the last of three terrestrial rings covering the nation in 2012. The NICTBB is the terrestrial continuation of EASSy and provides overland connections to bordering countries Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Zambia. Its operational management is handled by fixed line incumbent TTCL Uganda The National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) is in the process of building the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-government Infrastructure (NBI and EGI) projects. These projects aim to connect all major towns in the country through a 1,500-kilometer fiber system with border connections to Kenya, South Sudan, and Rwanda Kenya Soliton Telmec of Kenya is managing the system for the Ugandan government South Africa Liquid Telecom, owned by Zimbabwe-based Econet, is constructing a large fiber network spanning Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, the DRC, and South Africa, and reaching the border of Mozambique. Liquid Telecom s network penetrated into southern DRC in 2012, reaching the cities of Lubumbashi and Kolwezi. Liquid Telecom also extended its network footprint by purchasing the East Africa fiber assets of the Altech Group, which includes international submarine cable capacity on SEACOM. These terrestrial assets consist of Kenya Data Networks, Infocom Uganda and Altech Stream Rwanda, and serve to expand Liquid s presence in Africa from Cape Town to Nairobi
Africa Traffic Flows African International Internet Bandwidth by Region Region Gbps Percentage Africa 133 9% Asia 75 5% Europe 1,235 85% Latin America 0 0% U.S. & Canada 13 1% Africa Total 1,456 100% Synopsis: Traffic flow is similar to the Middle East, with the majority of bandwidth from Africa flowing to Europe (85%) The launch of SEACOM, TEAMS, and EASSy submarine cable systems on the East African Coast, and Main One, Glo-1, WACS, and ACE on the West Coast have spurred sub-saharan Africa s rapid growth, increased market competition, and lowered prices These new cables have also encouraged operators to establish PoPs for IP transit in sub-saharan African countries: SEACOM offers IP services in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya Main One Cable offers IP services in Nigeria and Ghana Telecom Italia, Level 3 and Saudi Telecom among a host of companies establishing Djibouti as a large regional IP transit hub Outlook: New connections have helped make communications more affordable with wet capacity prices falling as competition increases. Cross-border terrestrial networks are expanding rapidly in Africa but carriers still largely use intra-african capacity to interconnect with submarine cable stations for onward transit to Europe, rather than to facilitate the exchange of African traffic
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Europe main cables snapshot Lit Capacity RFS Year Length (km)(gbps) Max Capacity (Gbps) Submarine Network Name Arctic Fibre* 2015 15167 0 0 EUROPA* 2015 0 0 Russian Optical Trans-Arctic Cable System (ROTACS)* 2015 16373 0 0 WASACE Europe* 2015 6583 0 0 Hibernia Express* 2014 4600 0 25600 ALASIA* 2014 0 0 Emerald Express* 2014 5200 0 0 MedNautilus Submarine System 2013 7000 1340 30400 MENA Cable System/Gulf Bridge International 2013 8000 1180 9800 Silphium 2013 425 70 1200 Algeria-Spain 2013 500 0 0 Balkans-Italy Network (BIN) 2013 276 100 0 Tamares North 2012 345 70 42000 Jonah 2012 2297 0 12800 Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) 2012 17000 200 5120 West African Cable System (WACS) 2012 14916 500 5120 TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros 2011 3634 1010 36000 Europe India Gateway (EIG) 2011 15000 700 2880 Hawk 2011 3400 100 2720 Pencan-8 2011 1400 0 0 IMEWE 2010 12091 3660 9600 GLO-1 2010 9800 50 2560 Caucasus Cable System 2008 1200 100 1280 SHEFA-2 2008 1000 20 570 GO-1 Mediterranean Cable System 2008 290 40 480 Atlas Offshore 2007 1634 40 320 High-capacity Undersea Guernsey Optical-fibre (HUGO) 2007 425 0 0 BCF-1 2005 391 40 21760 SeaMeWe-4 2005 20000 3590 6400 Med Cable Network 2005 1300 20 1280 Janna 2005 634 0 0 RFS Length Lit Capacity Max Capacity Submarine Network Name Year (km) (Gbps) (Gbps) FARICE-1 2004 1395 100 7000 Svalbard Undersea Cable System 2004 2714 40 5120 Vodafone Malta-Sicily Cable System (VMSCS) 2004 260 20 960 Greece-Western Europe Network (GWEN) 2004 700 1600 0 INGRID 2004 64 0 0 Apollo 2003 13000 3650 38400 Tata TGN-Western Europe 2002 3578 1260 19200 SAT-3/WASC 2002 14350 340 340 ALPAL-2 2002 312 10 160 FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1) 2001 14500 2840 26400 Tata TGN-Atlantic 2001 13000 2810 20480 Hibernia Atlantic 2001 12200 2950 15360 TAT-14 2001 15295 1870 8960 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 Columbus-III 1999 9833 160 320 Atlantic Crossing-1 (AC-1) 1998 14301 1760 4480 FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) 1997 28000 440 4680 *Proposed Cables
Europe cables (1/2) Europe is the most developed telecommunication market in the world, being the first user of subsea cables. This in mind, European markets have achieved a peak and now International Internet capacity growth in Europe continued to steadily contract in 2013 International Internet capacity grew 32 percent in 2013 to reach nearly 76 Tbps, compared to 40 percent growth in 2012 and 49 percent growth in 2011 Intra-regional capacity comprised almost 80 percent of all international Internet connectivity connected to Europe The trans-atlantic route s share of international capacity connected to Europe fell slightly to 12 percent. Internet capacity grew most rapidly between Europe and Africa, rising 71 percent between 2012 and 2013 This said however, Europe has continued to grow as an interregional Internet hub for various sub regions of the globe. For instance, in the past decade, interregional Internet capacity to Europe has grown dramatically for the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia (see Figure: Changes in Sub regional Capacity Connected to Europe, 2003-2013). North Africa and the Middle East, in particular, are dependent on Europe for more than 80 percent of their international Internet bandwidth connectivity
Europe cables (2/2) Germany continued to be the largest consumer of international bandwidth in Europe, followed by the United Kingdom and France coming in third Europe s four Internet hubs (Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Amsterdam) continued to amass high bandwidth and traffic levels in 2013, though notably, average network utilization levels have edged slightly down in each of those cities over the past five years. Marseille and Kiev have seen more rapid international bandwidth and traffic growth in the last five years than any other major European cities, with compounded annual growth in excess of 100 percent Country 2013 CAGR 2009-13 Germany 28,644 44% United Kingdom 20,268 39% France 18,322 44% Netherlan ds 15,339 43% Sweden 6,013 39% Spain 4,995 35% Russia 4,768 57% Italy 4,381 34% Belgium 3,568 73% Austria 2,981 43% Poland 2,924 57% Denmark 2,723 41% Czech Republic 2,526 55% Hungary 1,990 44% Ukraine 1,613 89% International Internet Bandwidth Rank Route 2013 1 Netherlands - United Kingdom 4,593 2 Germany - Netherlands 4,581 3 France - Germany 4,150 4 United Kingdom - United States 4,118 5 France -United Kingdom 3,670 6 France - Spain 2,732 7 Germany -United Kingdom 2,475 8 France -United States 2,161 9 Germany - Poland 2,138 10 Germany - Sweden 1,833 Top Bandwidth Routes for Europe
Europe Traffic Flows European International Internet Bandwidth by Region Region Gbps Percentage Africa 1,235 2% Asia 5,599 7% Europe 60,066 79% Latin America 72 0% U.S. & Canada 8,949 12% Total Europe 75,921 100% Synopsis: While the U.S. remains a prominent hub of interregional Internet traffic, Europe now hosts a vibrant IP transit market in its own right, attracting international buyers from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. As in North America, prices in Europe continued to decline over the past year, but at a more moderate rate than the longer term trend. Carriers dropped prices for full 10 GigE ports an average of 14 percent across the region between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, and 29 percent compounded annually since 2010. The lowest 10 GigE prices quoted in Europe were found in hubs such as Frankfurt and London at $0.49 per Mbps. Prices have become uniform among major hubs in western, northern, eastern, and southern Europe. The rate of annual price declines ranged from 31 percent in Madrid to 37 percent in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
South Asia main cables snapshot Submarine Network Name RFS Year Length (km) Lit Capacity (Gbps) Max Capacity (Gbps) Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC)* 2015 4800 0 0 APX-West* 2014 4600 0 0 Asia Pacific Gateway (APG)* 2014 10400 0 0 Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC) 2013 8900 1200 28800 GBICS/MENA Cable System 2012 1000 5280 Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE)/Cahaya Malaysia 2012 7500 0 0 Dhiraagu Cable Network 2012 1253 0 0 Europe India Gateway (EIG) 2011 15000 700 2880 IMEWE 2010 12091 3660 9600 PGASCOM 2010 264 160 0 Tata TGN-Intra Asia (TGN-IA) 2009 6700 1900 9600 Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System 2009 20000 1880 6000 Batam Dumai Melaka (BDM) Cable System 2009 353 80 1280 JAKABARE 2009 1330 160 1280 SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia 2009 15000 0 0 Matrix Cable System 2008 1055 170 2560 WARF Submarine Cable 2007 680 10 1280 Dhiraagu-SLT Submarine Cable Network 2007 850 20 160 FLAG FALCON 2006 10300 390 6400 Transworld (TW1) 2006 1300 60 1280 Bharat Lanka Cable System 2006 325 20 960 SeaMeWe-4 2005 20000 3590 6400 Tata TGN-Tata Indicom 2004 3175 640 47200 EAC-C2C 2002 36500 3260 30550 i2i Cable Network (i2icn) 2002 3200 320 8400 SAFE 2002 13500 440 440 APCN-2 2001 19000 3840 21120 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) 1997 28000 440 4680 *Proposed Cables
South Asia cables South Asia derives most of its international bandwidth through submarine cables. These cables provide both intra-asia connectivity and links to the United States and Europe. Between 2008 and 2012, the lit capacity of intra-asia submarine cables increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 28 percent, from 5.4 Tbps to 14.4 Tbps India, which has exhibited some of the largest bandwidth growth rates in Asia, saw rapid price declines over the past year. Between 2011 and 2012, the median monthly STM-1 lease price for Mumbai Singapore fell 43 percent to $11,000 and 39 percent compounded annually since 2009. Chennai-Singapore saw prices decrease 24 percent over the past year to $15,000 and 43 percent compounded annually since 2009. These sharp reductions continue to narrow the price discrepancies between eastern and southern Asia. Mumbai-Singapore is now only 2.8 times the price of a connection on Hong Kong-Singapore, compared to 4.5 times in Q4 2009. Similarly, Chennai Singapore is now 4.7 times as expensive as Hong Kong-Tokyo, compared to 11 times in 2009 Price erosion between India and East Asia is enabled by the relatively low incremental cost of supply available on the i2i Cable Network, TGN-Tata Indicom Cable, and SeaMeWe-4, as well as by growing competition between service providers
South Asia Bandwidth Consumption and Proposed Cables China was the largest consumer of international bandwidth in South Asia, followed by Japan and Singapore coming in third The intra-asian bandwidth market is characterized primarily by submarine cable capacity and includes routes between both mature and developing markets. Key cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore have long been hubs where carrier networks interconnect, while growing cities in India and South Asia are becoming more competitive as service providers extend to them a greater level of international connectivity Cable upgrades and an increased amount of competition have resulted in price erosion throughout the region in 2012. Wavelength prices on major routes saw significant reductions, falling an average of 33 percent between 2011 and 2012 and ranging from $23,250 on Hong Kong-Tokyo to $185,000 on Mumbai- Singapore. Two major intra-asia systems are slated to enter service by 2014: the Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC) and Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) consortium cables. These systems will have similar designs to the TGN-IA cable, which utilizes a trunk-and-branch configuration as opposed to the ring structure used in the previous generation of systems. Several Asian carriers and Google built the 8,900-kilometer SJC system. The cable links Brunei, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. SJC was launched in June 2013 at a cost of approximately $400 million. The APG cable, which is being built by a consortium of eleven Asian carriers and Facebook, will connect China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. The cable will cover 10,400 kilometers and is expected to enter service in the third quarter of 2014. 2008-12 Rank Country 2011 2012CAGR 1 China 3,606.6 5,177.5 53% 2 Japan 3,239.0 4,538.9 44% 3 Singapore 1,793.1 2,748.8 73% 4 Hong Kong 1,868.1 2,724.3 52% 5 Taiwan 928.0 1,235.6 45% 6 India 697.2 1,064.6 83% 7 Korea, Rep. 706.3 961.9 37% 8 Malaysia 476.6 727.1 71% 9 Philippines 253.1 421.6 66% 10 Vietnam 209.4 354.0 89% Subsea Cable 2011 2012 APCN-2 3,840 3,840 FLAG/REACH North Asia Loop 2,660 3,780 EAC-C2C 2,820 3,260 Tata TGN-Intra Asia 1,900 1,900 Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) 800 FLAG Europe-Asia 440 440 SeaMeWe-3 400 410 Total Intra-Asia 12,060 14,430 APCN International Internet Bandwidth Top Intra Asian Bandwidth Routes
Asia Pacific main cables snapshot Max Length Lit Capacity Capacity Submarine Network Name RFS Year (km) (Gbps) (Gbps) Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC) 2015 4800 0 0 APX-East 2015 12500 0 0 Hawaiki Cable 2015 0 0 APX-West 2014 4600 0 0 Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) 2014 10400 0 0 Solomons Oceanic Cable Network 2014 900 0 0 Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC) 2013 8900 1200 28800 Interchange Cable Network (ICN) 2013 1238 20 3200 Tonga Cable 2013 827 20 320 GBICS / MENA Cable System 2012 1000 5280 Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE)/Cahaya Malaysia 2012 7500 0 0 Dhiraagu Cable Network 2012 1253 0 0 Europe India Gateway (EIG) 2011 15000 700 2880 IMEWE 2010 12091 3660 9600 Honotua 2010 4500 20 640 PGASCOM 2010 264 160 0 HANTRU1 Cable System 2010 3500 0 0 Tata TGN-Intra Asia (TGN-IA) 2009 6700 1900 9600 Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System 2009 20000 1880 6000 American Samoa-Hawaii (ASH) 2009 4250 1.1 1.1 SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia 2009 15000 0 0 Pipe Pacific Cable-1 (PPC-1) 2009 6900 500 0 Matrix Cable System 2008 1055 170 2560 Telstra Endeavour 2008 9125 160 1280 Gondwana-1 2008 2151 20 640 WARF Submarine Cable 2007 680 10 1280 Dhiraagu-SLT Submarine Cable Network 2007 850 20 160 Batam-Rengit Cable System (BRCS) 2007 63 10 0 Max Length Lit Capacity Capacity Submarine Network Name RFS Year (km) (Gbps) (Gbps) FLAG FALCON 2006 10300 390 6400 Transworld (TW1) 2006 1300 60 1280 Bharat Lanka Cable System 2006 325 20 960 Australia-Papua New Guinea-2 (APNG-2) 2006 1800 0 0 SeaMeWe-4 2005 20000 3590 6400 Tata TGN-Tata Indicom 2004 3175 640 47200 Thailand-Indonesia-Singapore (TIS) 2003 968 30 320 EAC-C2C 2002 36500 3260 30550 i2i Cable Network (i2icn) 2002 3200 320 8400 SAFE 2002 13500 440 440 APCN-2 2001 19000 3840 21120 Australia-Japan Cable (AJC) 2001 12700 640 4000 Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN) 2000 30500 2600 9600 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 SeaMeWe-3 1999 39000 410 460 FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) 1997 28000 440 4680 *Proposed Cables
Asia Pacific cables Lit capacity on submarine cables connected to Australia rose in 2012, after remaining constant from 2010 to 2011. Southern Cross, already the largest cable by lit capacity in the sub region, has upgraded its network in several phases The Australia-Japan Cable (AJC) doubled its lit capacity to 640 Gbps by upgrading to 40 Gbps technology Pipe Pacific Cable-1 (PPC-1), which currently has a lit capacity of 200 Gbps, plans to upgrade the system with 100 Gbps technology, which will dramatically increase the cable s lit capacity to 3 Tbps. Even with the flurry of upgrades, the Australia & Pacific subregion is a hotbed of potential new submarine cables. There is strong interest in an additional cable from western Australia to Southeast Asia since only SeaMeWe-3 connects these two regions. The western coast of Australia is home to two similar but unrelated cable projects: Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) and APX-West. ASC hopes to enters service by Q1 2015. APX-West was announced at the beginning of 2013 and would connect Perth, Jakarta, and Singapore. APX-West has a target in-service date of Q4 2014. Even with strong interest adding diversity to this route, there is likely not enough demand to support more than one new cable on the route Trident Subsea Cable hopes to link western Australia to Singapore via Indonesia by Q2 2015. Trident plans to interconnect with existing dark fiber pairs on the Matrix Cable to create a seamless link. Both APX-East and Hawaiki hope to enter service in 2015, and aim to connect Sydney, Auckland, Hawaii, and the west coast of the United States. Hawaiki also plans to install several branching units to enabling future connections to various South Pacific islands. In addition to APX-East and Hawaiki s plans to connect Australia and New Zealand across the Tasman sea, one other project is focused purely on the trans- Tasman route. The Tasman Global Access (TGA) cable, announced in February of 2013, would connect Sydney and Auckland. Funded by Telecom New Zealand, Telstra, and Vodafone, the cable is expected to enter service in 2015. The prospects for the TGA cable going forward appear positive since all three owners have significant capacity needs on their own, decreasing the need for outside capacity sales to help fund the system.
Asia Pacific Pricing Growing international bandwidth demand between Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. has been fulfilled primarily through capacity upgrades to existing systems Price reductions reflect integration of newer transmission equipment and a declining cost of incremental capacity. Nevertheless, geographic isolation, distance, and the relatively small number of providers that offer international capacity between the countries still keep prices high and the observed rate of decline less than on other submarine cable routes
South Asia and Asia Pacific Traffic Flows Outlook Asian: The outlook for bandwidth prices on intra-asian routes portends steep decline Demand is robust and shifting towards higher capacities, evidenced by the number of system upgrades and the number of planned cables in development On routes where new builds and upgrades are both undertaken, price declines will likely be more rapid, similar to what was seen in 2012 Construction of new intra-asian cables does not reflect a pending capacity shortage on existing cables. Rather, it shows that providers are increasingly interested in owning their own capacity directly instead of incrementally buying it in the wholesale market. This is evidenced in the shift towards consortium cables, which allow carriers to achieve diversity and take advantage of current low unit costs. Capacity owners on existing cable systems will likely price match their competitors, furthering price declines into 2013 and beyond Asia Pacific: Price declines have been enabled by the lower unit costs that continued capacity upgrades to cables linking to Australia over the past few years brought With bandwidth demand continuing to grow, further upgrades to current systems connecting Australia to Asia and the U.S. are underway. Between the U.S. and Australia price declines will remain more moderate than other submarine cable routes until a new cable system is constructed, and greater competition is introduced.
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Planned Submarine Cables Region/Cable Name Owner(s) Construction Cost (millions USD) RFS Length Capacity (Initial/Potential)Landing Countries Supplier Sub-Saharan Africa South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) Angola Cables n.a. Q2 2015 6,500 800 Gbps/40 TbpsAngola, Brazil n.a. South Atlantic Marine System (SAMS) SEACOM n.a. Q4 2014 2,500 n.a.south Africa n.a. TechTeleData (TTD) Cable TechTeleData n.a. Q4 2014 2,500 n.a.south Africa n.a. Europe-Asia SeaMeWe-5 Consortium n.a. 2016 n.a. n.a.n.a. n.a. Asia Africa Europe (AAE)-1 Consortium n.a. Q1 2016 n.a. n.a.n.a. n.a. Asia Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand Cable Ezecom, Telekom Malaysia $80 2015 1,425 n.a.cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand n.a. Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) Consortium $500Q3 2014 10,400 China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Rep., Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, n.a./54.8 TbpsThailand, Vietnam India, Malaysia, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bay of Bengal Gateway Consortium n.a. 2014 8,000 n.a. UAE Trans-Atlantic NEC Alcatel Hibernia Express Hibernia Networks $250 2014 4,600 n.a./25.6 TbpsCanada, United Kingdom TE Subcom Emerald Express Emerald Networks $300 2014 5,200 n.a./40 TbpsIceland, Ireland, United States TE Subcom Trans-Pacific China, Korea, Rep., Japan, Taiwan, New Cross Pacific (NCP) Cable System Consortium n.a. Q4 2015 15,000 n.a. United States n.a. Australia and South Pacific January Interchange Cable Network (ICN) Interchange Holdings, Nambawan Super, Vanuatu Post $31 2014 1,238 450 Mbps/3.2 TbpsFiji, Vanuatu Alcatel Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC) ASC International $160 March 2015 4,800 n.a./24 TbpsAustralia, Indonesia, Singapore Alcatel Tasman Global Access (TGA) Cable Telecom New Zealand, Telstra, Vodafone $60 2015 2,300 n.a./30 TbpsAustralia, New Zealand n.a.
Planned Submarine Cables Region/Cable Name Owner(s) Construction Cost (millions USD) RFS Length Capacity (Initial/Potential)Landing Countries Supplier APX-West SubPartners, Indosat $200Q1 2015 4,600 n.a./32 TbpsAustralia, Indonesia, Singapore TE Subcom APX-East SubPartners $300Q4 2015 12,500 n.a./19.2 TbpsAustralia, New Zealand, United States TE Subcom Hawaiki Hawaiki Cable Limited $350Q4 2015 10,200 n.a./20 TbpsAustralia, New Zealand, United States TE Subcom Australia, Indonesia, Singapore (via fiber pairs on Trident Subsea Cable Trident Subsea Cable $400Q2 2015 n.a. n.a./16 TbpsMatrix Cable System) Latin America and Caribbean Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, America Movil Submarine Cable System-1 (AMX-1) America Movil $1,100 Jul-09 17,500 n.a./50 TbpsMexico, United States n.a. Alcatel Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS) Consortium n.a. Q3 2014 6,000 Aruba, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, United States, n.a./80 TbpsU.K. Virgin Islands Alcatel Polaris LinkBermuda n.a. Q1 2015 n.a. n.a.bermuda, Canada n.a. Seabras-1 Seaborn Networks n.a. Q1 2015 10,500 n.a./40 TbpsBrazil, United States Alcatel Cable of the Americas Angola Cables n.a. 2015 10,900 n.a./20 GbpsBrazil, United States n.a. Mediterranean Algeria-Spain Algerie Telecom n.a. 2014 500 n.a.algeria, Spain n.a. April Didon Orange Tunisia, Tunisiana $20 2014 170 n.a.italy, Tunisia Alcatel Other Arctic Fibre Arctic Fibre, Inc. $640Q4 2015 15,167 1.04 Tbps/32 TbpsCanada, Japan, United Kingdom, United States n.a. Russian Optical Trans-Arctic Cable System (ROTACS) Polarnet $980Q4 2015 16,373 n.a./60 TbpsJapan, Russia, United Kingdom TE Subcom
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Africa: Virgin Market The continent of Africa is the world's second largest continent after Asia. Africa is home tosix of the ten fastestgrowing countries in the world The projected economy growth rate of 5.3% next year, from 4.8% in 2013. Spending time on the internet could add US$300Billion to the economy by 2025 More than 720million have mobile phones. 167million already use the internet 52 million are already on Facebook Internet penetration is low at 16% of the one billion people on the continent. Source McKinsey & Co.
Neutral Infrastructure Operator Agnostic Cable System Transit Landing Stations
Table of Contents 1. MENA Region 2. Africa 3. Europe 4. South Asia and Asia Pacific 5. Planned Submarine Cables 6. The Opportunities 7. Appendix A -Maps
Appendix A -Maps MENA
Appendix A -Maps AFRICA
Appendix A -Maps EUROPE
Appendix A -Maps SOUTH ASIA/FAR EAST
Appendix A -Maps AUSTRALIA
The Naked Truth about Submarine Cables! By Amr Eid Chief Commercial Officer