Signs of change

In the last few weeks there have been some signs that the carrier world is likely to face its biggest change and shake up since the era of deregulation.

Postings from a high ranking Telia Sonera executive and news about Face books intentions underline that change is already here.

In a recent post Neil Tagare, who is never shy of writing what many do not want to hear, wrote on his blog that carriers should be very scared at the Facebook /WhatsApp news because it has the potential to shift a huge number of revenue generating communications off of carrier networks and onto the face book network.

DALLAS, TEXAS, USA – (February 26, 2014) – Xtera Communications, Inc., a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, will be present at OFC 2014 with a live 100G unrepeatered transmission demonstration over 500km fiber length on the exhibit floor, two papers, and participation in a 100G workshop. OFC 2014 is the world's leading event for advancing optical solutions and will be held on 9-13 March 2014 in San Francisco, California, USA.

According to Reuters, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff  promoted and confirmed on the EU-Brazil Summit 2014 on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil's reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia. And Brazil and the European Union have agreed the $185 million Brazil-Europe submarine cable project. Earlier this month, Telebras unveiled the plan to form a joint venture with Spain's IslaLink Submarine Cables to lay and operate a Brazil-Europe submarine cable.

Source: China Daily, Feb. 21, 2014  By Shen Jingting

China Telecom Corp Ltd, the largest fixed-line service and the third-biggest mobile network operator in China, aims to become a world leader in integrated information services by 2016.

As an increasing number of Chinese enterprises expand overseas, China Telecom hopes to play an active role in supporting them with seamless global information services, Deng Xiaofeng, chief executive officer of China Telecom Global Ltd, told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

According to FOX NEWS, Brazilian state-owned telecom provider Telebras announced on February 12 plans to form a joint venture with Spain's IslaLink Submarine Cables to lay and operate a Brazil-Europe submarine cable. The Brazil-Europe submarine cable project is expected to cost $185 million and be completed in 2016.

No doubt, Chinese are now leading the submarine cable industry. Chinese chair in several important  submarine cable systems across the Pacific or connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, including APG, AAE-1, SMW5, NCP, Faster Cable, no matter under constructing or in planning. There are skeptical and anxious voices, some even think it as a threat. With my perspective and research, I consider it as a natural achievement of the development of the submarine cable industry, natural power of economy, natural power of market.

Vietnam Internet restored to normal after the AAG cable repaired on January 6. The latest AAG cable outage occurred off Vietnam coast near the Vung Tau Cable Landing Station on Dec 20, 2013 and some 60 percent of the Vietnam Internet traffic, according to FPT Telecom. There was moderate saying that the AAG cable outage affected only about 40 percent of Vietnam's international Internet traffic. Anyway, Vietnam Internet was disrupted by the AAG cable outage.

Today, the first working day in 2014, it is a wonderful day. The professional Linkedin group on submarine cable industry, 01 The Submarine Cable Systems group, reached 20,000 members, the default maximum size of a given Linkedin Group. Cheer, we all contribute to the 20000-member group, 01 The Submarine Cable Systems group, the best social networking for professionals in submarine cable industry worldwide. 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday postponed her next month’s scheduled trip to Washington, angering at the spying that the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company’s network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to U.S. tech companies such as Facebook and Google. Rousseff ordered a series of measures to break away from the U.S.-centric Internet.

Capacity revealed on Tuesday the shortlisted companies for the 2013 Global Carrier Awards. 

The nominations for over 20 categories are listed below, and the winners will be announced at the Capacity Awards ceremony and gala dinner on Tuesday 19 November at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.

[Tianjin, China, September 5, 2013]:Huawei Marine Networks Co., Ltd. (Huawei Marine) today announced that the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has selected Huawei Marine Optix BWS 1600S to upgrade the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network International (BDSNi).

China has planed to establish regional telecommunications service center and international telecommunications hub in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, according to the speech by SHANG Bing, Vice Minister of the MIIT, on the China – Eurasia Regional Telecommunications Exchange and Cooperation Forum on September 2, 2013. This is an effort for China to promote Eurasia network integration.

The State Council of China has issued the Broadband China Strategy and its Implementation Plan. As huge demands from China have driven the rising of commodity prices for oil, iron ore, etc., the demands on international cable capacity driven by the Broadband China Strategy may promote or at least uphold the prices for international capacity. The terrestrial and submarine cable industry, no matter manufacturers or capacity providers, will benefit from China's broadband strategy.

China issued series policies to boost information consumption.  Following the Circular of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Broadband China Strategy and its Implementation Plan (Documents of the State Council [2013] No.31), the State Council issued Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting Information Consumption and Boosting Domestic Demand (Documents of the State Council [2013] No.32). Surprisingly, China's central government issued successively within one week two state policies on information sector. And the document will serve as a guidance for related Chinese companies to boost the information consumption.

According to the Circular of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Broadband China Strategy and its Implementation Plan (Documents of the State Council [2013] No.31) issued on 17 August 2013, China has promoted the Broadband China Strategy to a national strategy from a sector strategy. 

By  THA LUN ZAUNG HTET/ THE IRRAWADDY

RANGOON — Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication and China Unicom have signed an agreement to build a new optical fiber cable that would connect Burma with China and international submarine communications networks, a senior official said on Thursday. The project would improve Internet connectivity in Burma.