wiredInUSA December 2019

Island hopping cable

Superconductors hit the market

A consortium of regional telecom companies, including Samoa Submarine Cable Company (SSCC) and Office des Postes et Télécommunications (OPT) in French Polynesia, has approved the final stages of planning for the installation of the Manatua-One Polynesia cable. The cable will have landings in Tahiti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Rarotonga and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and in Apia, Samoa and Niue. It will be the first fiber cable to reach Niue and the Cook Islands. The 3,700km cable was manufactured in New Hampshire and delivered to the region to be laid by the specialist vessel SubCom Reliance . Cable lay operations began in Samoa in November, will continue through December in Niue and the Cook Islands, and finish in French Polynesia in January 2020. Vairani Davio, joint-chair of the Manatua Procurement Group and OPT’s chef de project telecom, said: “The Manatua cable is a physical embodiment of the Polynesian leaders’ shared vision of a connected region, delivering reliable, high capacity and affordable connectivity. It will strengthen our cultural connections and create the foundation for our islands’ digital transformation.” The 3,700km cable was manufactured in New Hampshire and delivered to the region to be laid by the specialist vessel SubCom Reliance. Photograph courtesy of Avaroa Cable

Myung Roe-Hyun

LS Cable and System believes it has become the first company in the world to commercialize superconducting cables. Although it is one of five companies in Europe, Japan and the United States that have the technology, LS Cable is claiming that Korea is the first country to successfully commercialize it. The new cables, commercialized with Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), do not require a transformer and so save a considerable amount of space. Not only does that cut installation and operation costs for substations, it can also help avoid opposition to power facilities in urban areas. “Commercialization of superconducting cables will change the paradigm of the electricity industry, which has been dominated by European and Japanese companies,” said Myung Roe-Hyun, president and CEO of LS Cable and System.

wiredInUSA December 2019

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