Brief
The submarine cable industry is undergoing a period of transition including the nature of
investment, ownership, routing and user applications. In parallel, government economic and
national security concerns amplify the criticality and resilience of international connectivity
that submarine cables provide.
Pacific island countries are highly dependent on submarine cable connectivity to facilitate
international communications. Small island nations face unique challenges to secure a
resilient cable network architecture, largely due to geographic isolation, limited
telecommunications markets and cable investment challenges. The impact of connectivity
disruption is closely tied to each island’s cable infrastructure, treats, redundancy and network
resilience profile. Although submarine cables are by their nature vulnerable to disruption,
strengthening network resilience can be accomplished by methods other than investing in
more cables.