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Cable Landing Station is one important component of a submarine cable system which comprises of Wet Plant and Dry Plant.

The Dry Plant of a submarine cable system is a segment between the beach manhole and the cable landing station, comprises of land cable, power feeding equipment (PFE) and submarine line terminal equipment(SLTE), etc. The Wet Plant of a submarine cable system lies between the beach manholes, consists of submarine cable, repeater/gain equalizer, branching unit. A typical schematic of a submarine cable system is shown below.

Typical Schematic for a Submarine Cable System

The PFE and the SLTE of a submarine cable system are installed at the cable landing station. In some cases, the PFE is installed at a cable landing station nearby the cable landing site, while the SLTE may be installed in another cable landing station much faraway. For example, the terminal station at Hillsboro for the SLTE of the TPE cable system is about 150 mile away from the cable landing site at Nedonna Beach.

Multiple submarine cable systems may share the same cable landing stations. The submarine cable system is connected with the terrestrial network at the cable landing station, through the so called backhaul system.

The cable landing site is usually carefully chosen to be in areas:

  • that have little marine traffic to minimise the risk of cables being damaged by ship anchors and trawler operations;
  • with gently sloping, sandy or silty sea-floors so that the cable can be buried to minimise the chance of damage;
  • without strong currents that would uncover buried cables and potentially move cables.

Multiple types of submarine cables may be used in a submarine cable system, subject to depth of the seabed where the cable lies.

Various Types of Submarine Cables

The double armored submarine cable is used at the shore-end, terminated at the beach manhole at the cable landing site, and is interconnected with much lighter land cable going onward to the cable landing station.

Structure of Land Cable

Structure of Single Armored Submarine Cable

In most of the jurisdictions worldwide, the cable landing license is required to land a submarine cable.

  • Cable Landing Stations in Africa
  • Cable Landing Stations in Asia
  • Cable Landing Stations in Europe
  • Cable Landing Stations in North America
  • Cable Landing Stations in South America
  • Cable Landing Stations in Oceania
名称 发布日期 点击数
Raglan Cable Landing Station 30-09-20 点击数: 2972

Cable Landing Stations in Asia

Cable Landing Stations in China

There are now the following submarine cables landing in Mainland China:

Cables to the US:

  • China-US CN (retired)
  • TPE
  • NCP

Cables connecting Asia:

  • APCN-2
  • APG
  • EAC-C2C
  • SJC
  • SJC2 (2021)
  • TSE-1
  • Xiamen-Jinmen
  • Hainan to Hong Kong Express (H2HE)

Cables to Africa and Europe:

  • FLAG Europe-Asia
  • SMW3

The cables land at 9 submarine cable landing stations in China.

China Telecom owns three cable landing stations, including

  • Chongming Cable Landing Station for APCN-2, APG, China-US CN (retired), SWM3, TPE and NPC.
  • Shantou Cable Landing Station for APCN-2, China-US CN, SMW3 and SJC.
  • Xiamen Cable Landing Station for the undergoing Xiamen-Jinmen cable connecting Jinmen Island of Taiwan and Mainland China

China Unicom owns four cable landing stations, including:

  • Qingdao Cable Landing Station for the TPE and the EAC network;
  • Cable landing stations in Nanhui, one for FLAG and the other for C2C, APG and NCP, and
  • Changle Cable Landing Station in Fujian province for the undergoing TSE-1 connecting directly Taiwan Island and Mainland China.

China Mobile owns two cable landing stations:

  • Lingang Cable Landing Station for NCP and SJC2;
  • Wenchang Cable Landing Station for Hainan to Hong Kong Express (H2HE)

Cable Landing Stations in Taiwan

There are now 15 submarine cables landing in 7 cable landing stations in Taiwan:

  • Tanshui Cable Landing Station (NCIC): C2C, TSE-1 and FASTER
  • Tanshui Cable Landing Station (CHT):  APCN-2, SJC2 and TPE
  • Pali Cable Landing Station: EAC
  • Toucheng Cable Landing Station (CHT): APCN, SMW3, APG, NCP and PLCN
  • Toucheng Cable Landing Station (REACH): RNAL/FNAL and HKA 
  • Fangshan Cable Landing Station(CHT): China-US CN and SMW3
  • Fangshan Cable Landing Station(NCIC): C2C

 

Cable Landing Stations in Taiwan

 

Global internet giants and operators have heavy investments in Taiwan. 

Google has two hyperscale data centers in Taiwan, one in Changhua County which costs US$780 million and was completed in 2013, the other in Tainan Technology Industrial Park which will cost US$850 million, with a power supply of 10MW. So, Google builds two subsea cable connecting Taiwan and the US, FASTER and PLCN. Google also acquies huge capacity on other subsea cables connectign Taiwan.

Facebook has significant investment on subsea cables connecting Taiwan, including APG, SJC2 and HKA. Especially, Facebook owns 4 out of the six fiber pairs on HKA Toucheng/Taiwan Branch. 

Besides local operators including Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone Telecom (NCIC), etc., Telstra represents a key player on submarine cable business in Taiwan, its EAC-C2C network landing in 4 cable landing stations in Taiwan, and being HKA landing party in Taiwan.

Geographically, the east and south coast of Taiwan island is of significant importance for the submarine networks, and is also a high-risk region for the submarine networks due to the characteristics of the geology of Taiwan.

The east and south of Taiwan are a complex system of belts formed by, and part of the zone of, active collision between the North Luzon Through portion of the Luzon Volcanic Arc and South China, where accreted portions of the Luzon Arc and Luzon forearc form the eastern Coastal Range and parallel inland Longitudinal Valley of Taiwan respectively. This region is encountered frequent seismic faults which may caused serious harmful impact to the submarine networks. For example, the magnitude 7.0 Hengchun Earthquake in December 2006 resulted in 18 cable cuts in 8 submarine cable systems, atastrophically disrupted Internet services in Asia and Pan-Pacific regions.

Cable Landing Stations in Indonesia

Cable Landing Stations in Brunei Darussalam

Brunei Darussalam is shaping up as a bandwidth transit hub for the Bornean States of Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan. Terrestrial fibre optic cables connect these Bornean States to Brunei cable landing stations which then provide direct connectivity to 9 international destinations, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, China and USA.

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) facilitates the deployment of telecommunication infrastructure and services, including submarine cables, in Brunei. An Infrastructure Provider for the Telecommunication Industry (InTi) is required to deploy a submarine cable system into Brunei.

As of January 2020, Brunei Darussalam is connected to 4 active submarine cable systems, with a potential bandwidth capacity of 10 Tbps. These 4 submarine cable systems are landed in two cable landing sites in Brunei, namely the Tungku landing site and the Telisai landing site.

There are currently two cable landing stations:

  • Tungku Submarine Cable Station
  • Telisai Submarine Cable Station

 

Cable Landing Stations in Brunei Darussalam
Cable Landing Stations in Brunei Darussalam, Source: UNN

 

There are now four submarine cables connecting Brunei:

  • AAG - Asia America Gateway cable
  • SJC - South East Asia Japan Cable
  • SMW3 - South East Asia Middle-East West Europe 3 cable
  • LBC - Labuan Brunei Cable.

Riding on the strong growth in IP-based traffic, Brunei has successfully lighted up 10 Tbps of international capacity to fuel bandwidth demand.

Brunei’s geographical location with no history of natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes, and substantially lower power costs, presented the sultanate with added advantages as a connectivity and transit hub for the underserved regions of Borneo Island and the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asia Growth Area)

Brunei is connected Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia and the West Kalimantan Province of Indonesia with terrestrial connectivity via the border crossing of Sungai Tujoh, and with commercial traffic of 1 Tbps.

 

Contributed by: Marcus Ang, et al., UNN

Cable Landing Stations in Europe

Cable Landing Stations in Russia

Cable Landing Stations in Russia

Cable Landing Stations in North America

Cable Landing Stations in West Coast of the U.S.

Submarine Cable Landing License

To land or operate a submarine cable in the United States, submarine cable operators must obtain a cable landing license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  The FCC’s International Bureau, Telecommunications and Analysis Division (TAD) issues licenses to own and operate submarine cables and associated landing stations in the United States pursuant to the Commission’s authority under the Cable Landing License Act of 1921.

A cable landing license must be obtained prior to landing a submarine cable to connect: 

  1. the continental United States with any foreign country;
  2. Alaska, Hawaii or the U.S. territories or possessions with a foreign country, the continental United States, or with each other; and
  3. points within the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii or a territory or possession in which the cable is laid within international waters.

Streamlined Processing

Applications for cable landing licenses are subject to initial review for completeness of information and, upon acceptance for filing, public notice inviting comment. The FCC's rules provide for streamlined processing with action within 45 days of release of the public notice where the applicant can demonstrate eligibility for streamlining under the FCC's rules. 

The FCC will undertake to act on applications that are ineligible for streamlining within 90 days of issuance of a public notice unless the application raises questions of extraordinary complexity. 

To qualify for streamlining the Applicant must send complete copies of the application:

  1. the Department of State;
  2. the Department of Commerce; and
  3. the Department of Defense. 

The State Department has authorized the Commission to act on applications when the FCC notices the State Department in writing of the filing of an application and the State Department does not object within 30 days of the notification. 

Non-Streamlined Processing

The FCC also coordinates with other Executive Branch agencies applications where a foreign citizen or foreign-organized entity, including foreign government, would hold a 10 percent or greater direct or indirect equity or voting interest in the licensee.

In such senario, the Non-Streamlined Processing may be applied. The Non-Streamlined Processing involves an opaque and sometimes unending review process used by what's commonly known as Team Telecom (i.e., a working group of representatives from the Federal government entities charged with ensuring national security: the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, State, Treasury, and Commerce, as well as USTR and the FBI), according to Commissioner of the FCC, Michael O'Rielly.

Special Temporary Authority (STA)

During the Non-Streamlined Processing, the FCC may grant the applicants an Special Temporary Authority (STA) to carry out certain engineering works and/or partial operation in the territory of the United States. STAs are granted with a fixed expiration date, usually six months, or for the term necessary to cover a special event, etc. STAs do not have grace periods and are valid only through their expiration date. The FCC may grant extensions of an STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.

FCC Licensed Submarine Cable Systems

As of December 2019, there are 74 FCC licensed submarine cable systems (either operating or planning to enter service) and 9 new submarine cables pending for submarine cable landing license.

 

Cable Landing Stations in East Coast of the U.S.

Cable Landing Stations in Guam

Guam is a natural hub and communication gateway for trans-Pacific telecommunications. On this 212-square-mile island, Guam arguably has one of the most extensive telecom infrastructures in the Asia Pacific region and most areas throughout the United States. 

There are following cable landing stations in Guam: 

  • Tanguisson cable landing station:  CUCN, AAG, AJC and Guam-Philippine
  • Tumon Bay cable landing station: TPC-5, AJC and Pacrim West
  • Tata Piti cable landing station: TGN-Pacific, TGN-IA and PPC-1
  • GTA Piti-I cable landing station: SEA-US, JGA South
  • GNC neutral cable landing station and data center: HK-G, JGA North, SxS

Cable Landing Stations in Hawaii

There are 7 cable landing stations in Hawaii Islands, including

Cable landing stations in the Big Island:

  • Kawaihae Cable Landing Station(Hawaiian Telecom): Honotua cable system
  • Spencer Beach Cable Landing Station(Hawaiian Telecom): Southern Cross cable system, and

Cable landing stations in Honolulu - Oahu Island:

  • Kahe Point Cable Landing Station(Hawaiian Telecom): Southern Cross
  • Makaha Cable Landing Station (AT&T): Japan-US CN
  • Makaha Cable Landing Station (Hawaiian Telecom): SEA-US
  • Keawaula Cable Landing Station(AT&T): TPC-5, Telstra Endeavour, AAG and ASH (American Samoa Hawaii Cable)
  • Kapolei Cable Landing Station (DRFortress): Hawaiki Cable

 

 

Cable Landing Stations in South America

Cable Landing Stations in Mexico

Cable Landing Stations in Venezuela

Cable Landing Stations in Oceania

Cable Landing Stations in America Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa).  The 2000 census showed a total population of 57,291 people. The total land area is 76.1 square miles (197.1 km2). American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States.

There is one international fiber optic cable between American Samoa, Samoa and Hawaii, the ASH/SAS Cable,  and connects America Samoa to the existing global telecommunications infrastructure networks.

The ASH/SAS Cable lands at the Pago Pago Cable Landing Station.

Cable Landing Stations in Samoa

Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa and German Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.

Samoa is connected into the global submarine networks with the Samoa American Samoa Cable (SAS Cable), and onward connectivity with the American Samoa Hawaii Cable (ASH Cable).

The ASH/SAS Cable lands at the Apia Cable Landing Station.

Cable Landing Stations in French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity or constituent country of the French Republic. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory (Papeete).

There are several cable landing stations in French Polynesia, including Vaitape, Uturoa, Huahine, Moorea and Papenoo cable landing stations.

The Papenoo Cable Landing Station in Tahiti island is the cable landing station for the Honotua submarine cable connecting French Polynesia and Hawaii, with onward connectivity to link French Polynesia with global submarine networks.

Cable Landing Stations in Papua New Guinea

It is currently one international submarine cable linking Papua New Guinea, i.e., the PPC-1 cable landing at the Madang Cable Landing Station in Papua New Guinea.

Cable Landing Stations in Fiji

The Southern Cross Cable Network is currently the only one international submarine cable landing in Fiji, and lands at the Suva Cable Landing Station in Viti Levu Island of Fiji.

 
 
 
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