Panel 5 – Ensuring Digital Resilience: Linking Submarine Cables to Broader Resilience Goals

Summary

This panel discussion focused on ensuring digital resilience and linking submarine cables to broader resilience goals. The panelists explored ways to enhance connectivity in underserved regions and island states, which often face challenges due to lower populations and higher deployment costs. They emphasized the importance of collaboration between governments, private sector entities, and international organizations to address these issues.

Key points included the need for actionable strategies, learning from successful models like Singapore and Japan, and leveraging regional approaches to attract investment. The discussion highlighted the potential of repurposing end-of-life submarine cables for shorter regional networks or scientific research, which could improve connectivity in underserved areas and contribute to sustainability goals.

Panelists stressed the importance of integrating submarine cable resilience into national digital agendas and treating these systems as critical infrastructure. They suggested using artificial intelligence and robotics to enhance monitoring and repair capabilities, particularly in regions where traditional repair methods are challenging.

The role of ecosystem development, including data centers and supporting infrastructure, was emphasized as crucial for maximizing the impact of submarine cables. Panelists also discussed the need for financial support mechanisms, international agreements on cable lifecycle management, and the development of use cases to encourage innovation in the sector.

Overall, the discussion underscored the critical role of submarine cables in global connectivity and digital inclusion, with a focus on long-term resilience and addressing the needs of underserved regions beyond short-term profitability concerns.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– Ensuring connectivity and digital inclusion for underserved regions and small island states

– Repurposing and reusing submarine cables at end-of-life

– Integrating submarine cable resilience into broader connectivity agendas

– Using AI, robotics and new technologies to improve cable monitoring and repairs

– Importance of collaboration between stakeholders in the submarine cable ecosystem

Overall purpose:

The goal of this panel discussion was to explore ways to improve the resilience and sustainability of submarine cable systems, particularly for underserved regions, and integrate this into broader digital inclusion efforts.

Tone:

The tone was largely collaborative and solution-oriented. Panelists built on each other’s points and offered complementary perspectives. There was a sense of urgency about addressing connectivity gaps, balanced with optimism about technological solutions and multi-stakeholder cooperation. The tone became more forward-looking and speculative when discussing potential breakthroughs in the near future.

Speakers

– Koji Ono: Company Executive Director of Submarine Cable Networks at KDDI, moderator of the panel

– Announcer: Introduced the panel and speakers

– Sangbu Kim: Vice President of Digital at World Bank

– Yongbo Tang: Senior Vice President of China United Network Communications Group, non-executive director of China Tower Corporation Limited and China Communications Services Corporation Limited

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga: Co-founder of ASEF Africa to support African subsea systems development

– Rodney Taylor: Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union

Additional speakers:

– Jo Conroy: Mentioned as having worked on the Eastern Caribbean Fibre System in Barbados

Submarine Cable Resilience and Digital Inclusion: A Comprehensive Panel Discussion

This panel discussion, moderated by Koji Ono, Company Executive Director of Submarine Cable Networks at KDDI, focused on ensuring digital resilience and linking submarine cables to broader resilience goals. The panellists explored strategies to enhance connectivity in underserved regions and island states, which often face challenges due to lower populations and higher deployment costs. The discussion emphasised the critical importance of collaboration between governments, private sector entities, and international organisations to address these issues effectively.

Key Themes and Agreements:

1. Connectivity for Underserved Regions:

There was strong consensus among the panellists on the need for collaboration to improve connectivity in underserved areas. Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga, Co-founder of ASEF Africa, stressed the importance of “collaboration with actionable strategies”, setting a tone for practical problem-solving. Sangbu Kim, Vice President of Digital at World Bank, proposed a regional approach, suggesting that clustering small countries could improve their chances of attracting investment in submarine cable projects. Rodney Taylor, Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union, emphasised the need to balance profitability with connectivity goals for underserved regions.

2. Repurposing Submarine Cables:

The panel agreed on the potential benefits of repurposing submarine cables, both for improving connectivity cost-effectively and for scientific research. Taylor proposed repurposing cables for oceanographic and climate research, suggesting that this could be funded by organisations like the World Bank or countries offering concessionary financing. Mwayenga emphasised the importance of research and development in cable repurposing efforts, while Kim stressed the need for standardised processes to assess cable reusability.

3. Leveraging New Technologies:

There was significant discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to enhance submarine cable operations, monitoring, and repair. Yongbo Tang, Senior Vice President of China United Network Communications Group, advocated for using AI to improve submarine cable operations, particularly in fault prediction and prevention. Taylor suggested leveraging AI and robotics for proactive disaster monitoring and repair, especially in regions where traditional repair methods are challenging. The panelists agreed that technological advancements could significantly contribute to submarine cable resilience.

4. Policy and Regulatory Measures:

Kim and Taylor shared similar viewpoints on the importance of policy and regulatory measures to support submarine cable development and resilience. They emphasised the need for public policy reform, engagement with local governments, and the provision of tax and licensing incentives for cable repurposing. Taylor also stressed the importance of identifying submarine cables as critical infrastructure.

5. Holistic Ecosystem Approach:

A consensus emerged on the need for a holistic, ecosystem-wide approach to submarine cable resilience. Mwayenga highlighted the importance of research and development, Ono stressed reducing outages through an ecosystem approach, and Taylor emphasised embedding cable resilience in national digital strategies.

6. World Bank’s Role:

Kim discussed the World Bank’s involvement in submarine cable projects, highlighting their focus on supporting developing countries and small island states. He mentioned the Bank’s efforts to create shared information on cable lifecycle management and their work on developing standardized processes for assessing cable reusability.

Specific Examples and Case Studies:

1. Mauritius Cable Cut: Taylor mentioned this incident to illustrate the vulnerability of island states to cable disruptions and the need for improved resilience strategies.

2. Singapore’s Cable Strategy: Kim highlighted Singapore’s approach to cable landing as a successful model, emphasizing their focus on creating a conducive environment for cable landings through policy measures and infrastructure development.

Thought-Provoking Comments and Future Directions:

1. Mwayenga’s emphasis on “collaboration with actionable strategies” set a tone for practical problem-solving and shifted the conversation towards specific, implementable ideas.

2. Kim’s proposal for a multi-country approach to improve opportunities for smaller countries broadened the discussion from individual country approaches to regional strategies.

3. Taylor’s suggestion to repurpose cables for scientific research expanded the conversation beyond connectivity to include environmental sustainability and scientific advancement.

4. Tang’s framing of submarine cables within the broader context of the digital economy and Internet of Things emphasized their crucial role in global development and encouraged consideration of long-term strategic planning.

Unresolved Issues and Future Considerations:

Despite the productive discussion, several issues remained unresolved, including specific mechanisms for incentivizing and funding cable repurposing efforts, details on balancing profitability with connectivity goals for underserved areas, and concrete plans for improving collaboration between stakeholders in the submarine cable ecosystem.

The panel discussion generated numerous follow-up questions, highlighting areas for future exploration and research. These included developing actionable strategies for collaboration, learning from successful examples like Singapore, creating repositories of lessons learned, promoting cooperation between low-income countries, reforming public policy to encourage submarine cable development, and further leveraging AI and robotics for improved cable management.

In response to an audience question about the major factors for reducing outages, the moderator, Koji Ono, emphasized three key points: 1) Improving the resilience of the cable system itself, 2) Enhancing the repair capability, and 3) Adopting a holistic ecosystem approach to address vulnerabilities comprehensively.

In conclusion, this panel discussion underscored the critical role of submarine cables in global connectivity and digital inclusion, with a focus on long-term resilience and addressing the needs of underserved regions beyond short-term profitability concerns. The conversation highlighted the need for collaborative, innovative approaches that integrate technological advancements, policy reforms, and ecosystem thinking to ensure the sustainable development and management of submarine cable infrastructure.

Announcer: Special thanks to Huawei for a very sumptuous lunch. Our panel five will be focusing on ensuring digital resilience, linking submarine cables to broader resilience goals. And our moderator today is Mr. Koji Ono. Can we welcome Mr. Koji as he takes his seat? Koji Ono is currently the company executive director of submarine cable networks at KDDI. He has several cable projects as chairperson of procurement groups O&M and AR&R subcommittees. Mr. Koji has contributed for Yokohama cable maintenance zone as well as both cable owner and CEO as a ship operator. Mr. Koji, I’ll be handing over to you now for you to take over for panel five. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. Can I invite my colleagues for panel five? So, panel five, we will discuss about ensuring digital resilience and linking submarine cables to broader resilience goals. That is our theme. And then I would like to introduce our panelists. So Mr. Sangbu Kim from the World Bank, Vice President of Digital of World Bank. Thank you. And Mr. Tang is currently the Senior Vice President of China United Network Communications Group, and he also serves as a non-executive director of China Tower Corporation Limited, a non-executive director of China Communications Services Corporation Limited. Thank you. And Nomsa, as you already know, she is a co-founder of ASEF Africa to support African subsea systems development. Under her leadership, the organization has become a key player in raising awareness, establishing talent pipelines, and promoting education about subsea systems in Africa. And finally, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Rodney Taylor, is currently the Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunication Union, an intergovernmental organization responsible for harmonization of telecommunications ICT policies within the Caribbean countries. Prior to this, he worked as a business development and operations manager at CTU. Thank you, everybody. So I think everybody here must be satisfied with excellent lunch and feeling relaxed, but please be noted that exciting discussion will continue. This is the final panel discussion. So, before we go into the questions, I would like to raise some challenges to you in three big elements for improving the submarine cable residency. What do you think is the best effective, the most effective solution and factor? One is a permission period, second is redundancy by new cable, the third is cable protections by additional barrier or routing or area regulations. These three elements are key factors mathematically. I would like to discuss this later and would like to challenge you if you are feeling so relaxed. Okay, so I would like to start the questions. The first question is about the underserved communications and island states and regions can be less attractive for investment due to lower populations and higher cost of deployment of infrastructure. What is your view on ensuring and enhancing connectivity? So, I would like to ask Nomusa-san. Thank you.

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga: Thank you very much. It’s an honor to represent the the views of a region where I’m from, which is in context for a long time. In fact, it’s always ongoing. Underserved regions and island states have challenges that sometimes need a different approach. And in most cases, those approaches need more collaboration and I know if there’s anyone who’s got short-term memory loss, the only thing that you have gotten out of this is collaboration. I can’t overemphasize the need for collaboration. So it starts with that, but collaboration from a holistic point of view. And maybe the only thing I can think of would be collaboration with actionable strategies and actionable tasks. Because a lot of times, collaboration is mostly on discussion level. But I think we have, with the help of this body and relevant organizations, institutions in these kind of regions that are underserved, I’m hoping that this conversation is not going to stop at collaboration from a discussion point of view and that we actually really develop crystal clear, actionable items to actually work on with feedback that is meaningful. I’ll take this from some, maybe an angle of looking at what other states have done. If I look at an example. of Singapore, they have over 40 cables landing on their shores and they’re in the process of strategizing for an extra 40, if I may say, doubling that number in the next couple of years. So I think it’s important for us to double-click on what lessons we can learn from other states that can help states that are marginalized or underdeveloped. There are a lot of examples. Singapore is one of them. Japan, I’m not going to mention all of them. You probably know, some of the delegates in this room might know more than I do, but examples may come from Singapore, Japan. Japan has a high rate of earthquakes, so them implementing seismic-proof designs or designs that help with such situations help to enhance once we get to a point of developing – because after developing a cable in an underserved region, the most important thing is to actually safeguard its resilience. The third is Australia. I think this has been touched on, so a lot of lessons to be learned there. Iceland, there are some states that have strategies that we can implement and adopt, and I think this would be a very good vehicle to develop a repository of some of the lessons they have learned in the process of improving connectivity from a subsea point of view. In addition to that, I think Africa and the Caribbean Pacific Islands. There was some insights we got from Dr. Ahmed in the first panel today about Tonga. And I’m just remembering what happened in Mauritius in April, they had a cable cut. And Mauritius is an island with about 1.3 million on the southern part of Africa. And that outage became more impactful, negatively impactful to that economy because it’s an island that has three cables. And of the three, they had already lost two cables near the Yemeni waters. And I’m sure a lot of you know about that outage. And with the one cable that was left, that outage left them isolated on parts of their network. And you can imagine, if you’re looking at it empathetically, if you’re sitting in a situation like that, you are in a state that is isolated. And the kind of dependency that a state like that would have on internet infrastructure, a state that is reliant on tourism and with the close relationship between success on communications and tourism, that then brings us to trying to focus on how we can improve on the way we think about developing in underdeveloped states. I think the only other point that I want to mention is right now, the world is starting to look at different use cases. So right now, if you look at how you can traverse. traffic from APAC to the Americas, there was a single corridor that was favoured, and due to a regional outage in that area in the Red Sea, now we are seeing more companies, organisations looking at different use cases for different routes, and I think this would be important as these routes are thought through, that they also leave a footprint of connectivity in some of these underserved countries and parts of those regions. The last I want to touch on is training. Training is important. Training from the policy end, I think we have had lots of discussions about how governments can be involved, the impact that they may, and the role they play in ensuring that they collaborate with the private and public sector, and I think more training is required. There are so many regional bodies, ACEF is one of them, which can facilitate for such trainings, and I’m sure support is needed for the different entities that are trying to lend a hand, do something about the underserved regions and states. I think I’ll end here for now.

Koji Ono: Thank you, Nomsa. With regard to the collaborations, I do believe that this is a very good platform to have this advisory body, since we do have excellencies, specialists, and experts who have a lot of experiences and knowledge. And it will help you for your purposes, like training and collaborations. As regard to your word, outage, I do believe that is a major key parameter for submarine cable resilience. We should challenge to reduce the outages. Again, I would like to discuss this issue later together with the people here. May I ask Mr. Tang for your comments and answers on this question? Thank you, Mr. Tang.

Yongbo Tang: I think that for the low-income and low-tech countries, we need to use the submarine cable to promote the Internet of Things system in order to eliminate the island of economy and economic development. I personally think that we can do some work from the above. First, we should make full use of the role of the international submarine cable construction. We should use this platform to promote cooperation between the low-income and low-tech countries in order to get more funding and technology. and the tax benefits, to promote more international capital to participate in the construction of these areas and countries. On the other hand, we can also consider sharing the network of international operators. This will divide the cost even more to ensure that we can build more networks in these areas and countries. At the same time, we can also use this method to expand the scope of our business and promote the construction of the Hainan Internet and the Internet of Things in a different way. As for the third aspect, I think we can consider using some digital applications to expand the scope of our business. For example, we can consider promoting the remote education of these countries as well as the cost-cutting medical services. By doing so, we can promote the local economic development and adapt more to the construction of international capital and entities to promote the network. In short, I think we can use Hainan as a hub for these areas and countries and use the digital economy as a bridge. to ensure its improvement and guarantee. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. May I ask, Mr. Kim, would be this the role of World Bank? The same question?

Sangbu Kim: Thank you. Actually, the World Bank has been investing in this submarine cable area for a long time. through the government funding, but also by funding to private sectors and sometimes, most of cases, special purpose vehicles and such routes. So some, but in order to encourage and promote more submarine cable investment, I think there’s so many important factors are here, but one of them is just, we think about the market itself because without any demand, there’s no reason the private sector typically can participate in this basis, et cetera. So that’s one thing. The other thing is that before, maybe these days, more and more big tech companies just get into this basis rather than telecom operators. And traditionally, a telecom operator and the government has been very closely working with this basis, and it was really working well. But these days, the environment and ecosystem has been more complicated before previous several decades. So I think some more effort to make more ecosystem stakeholders come into this space and discussion further is really crucial for the further development, I think. From the World Bank point of view, I think the three main point is very important to encourage the further development of the subsea cable. The first one is the, public policy reform and public policy engagement with the local governments. Because we need to very closely work with the local government how to help them to reform their license process, for example, or enhancing the interoperability and interconnection with existing incumbent player and ensure the co-location opportunity with fair price is really crucial. At the same time, some open access to the internet, international gateway is also very crucial for the participants. So this type of regulatory dialogue with the government is really crucial. Number two is that I think some approach to make some cluster among some small countries is really crucial. Usually, as you know, this very small country has less chance to get some substitute cable access to their territory. So in order to have some better opportunity and chance, definitely some multi-country approach are needed. So for example, in our cases, World Bank has been very closely working with some of the African country consortium, such as Guinea and Gambia, for example. And we are supporting some ECOWAS countries, and sometimes we are supporting the EAC community, and then also sometimes the African and East African community. as well. So, and Caribbean also is a very important cluster. So, definitely some regional approach rather than specific country approach is really crucial to enhance some chance to attract further investment and financial investors. Lastly, I totally agree with Mr. Tang. The creating demand is really crucial. From the government perspective, invest more the public digital infrastructure and also invest more in the public network like the school network, healthcare center network, and public building network is really crucial. But on top of that, government also needs to invest more some digital services and governments or e-government services so that they can increase the demand for the cable network traffic, et cetera. So, I’ll stop here. But it is really a crucial part for the further development, I think.

Koji Ono: Thank you very much. It’s very impressive for us that we need an ecosystem for the submarine cable. And we, as a submarine cable engineer, I never forget the seven years of no new cable project after year of 2000. There was a very big IT bubble at that age. But after that, there was no new cable. And everybody misunderstood the market. This time, we should notice that ecosystem for the submarine cable is more important to keep the resilience. Yeah, thank you very much. Can we go to the next question? The next question is, considering there is increased scrutiny on recycling zero waste economies and sustainability, there are opportunities to look at innovative solutions such as repurposing submarine cable systems at the end of life and repurposing them to provide new links to island communities or coastal festoon systems. How can this type of innovation be encouraged?

Rodney Taylor: Good afternoon, thank you Mr. Ono, moderator, and good afternoon to everyone. It’s a pleasure to join my fellow colleagues on this very important topic here, particularly bringing a perspective from the Caribbean, from small island states, and as I listen to my panellists speak, I realise that we have all of the resources that we need in this room here today to solve the world’s connectivity problems. We have the World Bank, with all of the money in the world. We have the ITU, a global organisation, driving telecommunications development globally. We have tech companies like Google and Meta. So we have Huawei, you mentioned. the connectivity issue. We are working with Huawei and some of these companies, providing technology to address the issues of underserved regions by providing branches off of these superhighways. And I think we should move forward with a collective will to really address these problems. So not just the issue of internet or submarine cable connectivity, but also the issue of the fact that the internet is a very, very important part of our lives. Determining when a submarine fiber is end of life, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the cable is dead, of course, as you all know. It can be obsolete or it could be end of life from a financial or economic point of view. So it no longer has the capacity. The capacity that it has, it no longer has the capacity to move data, and it has been a very important part of the movement within the last ten years. I think there are fiber systems in the world that are probably in excess of 30, 35 years, almost, I think, between Denmark and Sweden. Cable systems established since 1994, still operational, to my knowledge. So you have technological obsolescence in that the technology has advanced and, therefore, it is not sustainable, and, therefore, it is not sustainable. So, of course, we discussed all yesterday about the damage to cable systems, the degradation of the cable systems, the susceptibility to natural disasters, underwater volcanoes and so on, we have such a situation in the Caribbean. So it’s important to distinguish when we talk about life span because that addresses the issue of whether the cables can be used safely but not the long-term consequence of that disaster, the degradation of humanity. We want to take a comparison between the use of large battery cables and the use in private institutes as it operates in territory, very, very important. Of course, the simple answer would be that cables can be redeployed, there are technologies that allow us to, that they’re no longer suitable for long-haul or high-capacity routes, but they can be redeployed for shorter regional networks. This can be a cost-effective solution for improving connectivity in underserved regions. And this redeployment can actually have great significant value for small islands and for underserved regions. The panel before this one, I believe, spoke about the use of cables for seismic research. Therefore, rather than simply abandoning a cable, it can be commissioned for oceanographic research, climate monitoring, seismic activity detection. And this in itself can help to address the issue of sustainability, climate change and so on, because we’re hearing a lot about debt for climate swap, for example, and perhaps this repurposing a cable to monitor conditions in the ocean and to address issues of climate change could be potentially funded by organizations like the World Bank and others, or other countries that offer concessionary financing. In the Caribbean, we have several cable systems that are actually quite old. In fact, Suboptica, I mentioned this yesterday, Suboptica did a study, and its conclusion is that many of our systems are actually approaching end of life. I had a very interesting conversation with Jo Conroy, hi, Jo. She worked in the Eastern Caribbean Fibre System in Barbados, where I’m from, so I was very pleased to hear that, and maybe we can discuss some more how we can work with you and others to help address the issue of the aging cable systems. So In short, encouraging the repurposing of cable systems that are end-of-life for purposes of outlying before, repurposing them to serve shorter distances, regional networks, addressing underserved regions, developing countries, small developing countries. We can look at financing solutions, in particular if we link the repurposing of these cables with the broader sustainability goals, the UN SDGs, perhaps as a possibility to access climate financing, to provide also tax incentives and licensing incentives for operators to repurpose these cables, as I mentioned, rather than abandoning them. I think I may be on my time limit, but in short, we can integrate policy support, financial incentives, we can use technological innovation in terms of repurposing these cables, and we can help to enhance the sustainability of this connectivity if these cables are repurposed. And we can also reduce the environmental impact. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you very much. Can I ask Mr. Kim, sorry, Norm Sir, to present? Thank you.

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga: When I look at encouragement, I think it’s important for us to take a step back and look at the full process on how we can address the repurposing of resources, cable in this case, and I think it’s important for us to look at how we can improve on research and development. Looking at the whole ecosystem as well, I like to always refer to the whole ecosystem because a subsea cable doesn’t exist in a bubble. It needs to land, the capacity it carries needs to land on a device that is used by a person or a group of devices. So I always look at how we look at it from a holistic point of view. So research and development will be important in trying to incentivize, just to add to what Mr. Taylor talked about in terms of tax incentivization. All of those inputs help to develop use cases that are used by companies to then develop a full ecosystem because once you land a cable, even if it’s been repurposed, it’s got the potential to have a very significant impact on different industries because that cable will land at a cable landing station, in some cases that’s a building of data centers, a building of supporting infrastructure. And with that, a consideration of the improvement or the development of supply chain ecosystems. So research and development is required. It’s important, it’s a very important input to actually know how to support the various activities that go with repurposing. And I think with that, that also goes into how. the how part, so you can extract a cable, now we know that, and repurpose it. How do you do that? That also needs local education around this and improvement in the support of locals that can help facilitate and operate operate in the extraction and refurbishing of those cables. Another point is the development of repositories, data repositories, all of this information, once it’s done some way, it’s done properly, it’s also important for us to have a system where we continuously have data available for the next set of countries or regions that would love to go through the same processes. As we are talking in the spirit of collaboration, I think it’s important that we continuously support each other, and data is the one proven useful input that can help with defining defining good sustainable strategies. I think that the last I would want to mention is the incentivization of policies. So if you are a nation that requires a cable, an undersea cable, and there is that possibility of extracting a cable from somewhere else, repurposing it, and installing it, I think it’s important that the nations and the regions are supportive to receiving that sort of support as well. So going back to incentivizing, by complementing with other internal funds that can help with the development of the other pieces of that cable that can make it work. And so this means looking at how regulators and governments sometimes set aside funds. These funds can also be used to collaborate either in this research and development or in helping with skills and talent pipeline developments. These all come together to benefit and I think that’s a pretty good way of thinking about how to encourage. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you. And continuously, can I ask Mr. Kim to present? Thank you.

Sangbu Kim: Thank you. I like Mr. Taylor’s and Mrs. Muswell’s point that we need some financial support mechanism because it is totally kind of the market failure in some sense. It is just nobody really care about abandoned cable these days. So repurposing and reusing is really important agenda for this group of people and for the human being. But sometimes we have no motivation to do this. So one point is that definitely some international agreement and norm, how are we gonna manage and maintain the life cycle of the whole. cable system is really crucial for everyone, but there’s no such a policy or international consensus for this regarding the very specific process or some how we can inspect them and scrutinize or something like that. There’s no such a regulation. I’m not saying that regulation is really needed, but at least there’s some shared information. Information, everybody can know that how this cable are being managed and finalized. On the other hand, I would like to raise another issue is that repurposing is really good, but sometimes we have a lot of challenge when we try to reuse of the current facilities and cables. It costs a lot sometimes. So it is really hard to get balanced between whether we just really just repurpose this or whether we better just abandon this. But I’m not talking about the abandoning. Once we’re just collecting the cable and then we can easily find that it is not really usable and then we can find another process for the clearance for the cable solutions. So another research or another, some discussion among the experts, how are we gonna make this process more officially and in a more standardized way is really crucial because currently there’s no one really care about this type of process and there’s no international. research, so maybe we can discuss further how we’re going to make some new norm for these issues.

Koji Ono: Thank you very much. As regard to the usage, the use of submarine cable, do you have any experience in your countries? For KDDI, we have some experience to donate our out-of-service cables, retiring cables to the scientific institute because of the cost-saving of tax and removal cost. It was successful first, however, after a few years, the scientific institute were suffering from the repairing cost, maintenance cost, and finally, the cost of removal. They cannot afford. Tax advantage is quite good by government. We appreciate it, but some kind of support for the scientific institute is indispensable for the seismic usage, I think. And one more, as for the reuse for the non-big market submarine cables, I mean, we have some experience to donate our cable to the submarine cable project at one dollar. And it is used for redundancy to support the resiliency of such smaller capacity and smaller demand international cables. This is, I do believe, will work for this forum and will support the areas of underserved. Thank you. Discussion continues. And final question regarding how can submarine cable resilience be better integrated into a broader connectivity and digital inclusion agenda? How can such integrations not only consider deployment, but also longevity and long-term resilience? Can I ask Mr. Tang? Thank you.

Yongbo Tang: Okay, thank you, host. Digital economy is a new engine that drives the development of global economy. The International Sea Basin is also a pillar of our digital economy, or a solid support. So I also think it is really necessary to integrate our Sea Basin into the wider Internet of Things and digital inclusiveness. I would like to talk about my thoughts from three perspectives. The first is how to ensure the long-term stability and operation of the Hainan in the life cycle. We also support the participation and advocacy of international cooperation. We promote the joint protection of multi-routes, one-routes, and new routes between different international organizations and operators. This is to ensure the stability of the Hainan’s large-scale interconnection network. This is to promote the resilience of the international Hainan and to steadily improve the level of inter-network and digital inclusiveness. The second is how to build digital operations on the ability of the international Hainan. This is to build the ability to monitor the status of the Hainan. This is to build the ability to monitor the status of the Hainan. This is to build the ability to monitor the status of the Hainan. such as landfishing, littering, natural disasters, and so on. Through this method and method, we are able to link up very quickly. Through the transfer of linkage, we are now able to form a rapid reaction between all kinds of marine and land species, and also solve the problem that we have all been discussing at this meeting. Over the past few years, we have been working on this issue for a very long time. Through the above three methods and methods, I also hope that we will be able to promote a better and more sustainable combination of the Internet of Things, the digital economy, and the digital inclusion agreement. Thank you.

Koji Ono: answer I would like to ask you in view of your previous answer what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025? Could you advise?

Yongbo Tang: I would like to ask you in view of your previous answer what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025? Could you advise? I would like to ask you in view of your previous answer what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025? Could you advise? I would like to ask you in view of your previous answer what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025? Could you advise? I would like to ask you in view of your previous answer what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025? Could you advise? It is based on the best practice and the best cost. So, it will come up with the best customer satisfaction plan based on the resources and the existence of your business, which the operators themselves or the international market and your own resources. In the case of customer satisfaction improvement, it is based on the best cost and the fastest improvement to ensure the operation of our network. I think this is the direction we can make a breakthrough in 2025. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you. I agree with Mr. Tang that submarine cable systems is the kind of most outdated area about AI. I have searched the articles regarding AI usage in submarine cable and I could find out only one article in the world, which is jointly written by NEC and Google regarding the decoding technology by using AI for submarine cable. That is the only one. No operational or other resiliency issues are utilized for submarine cable now. So, I believe it is a very good point regarding AI usage for submarine cable systems. Thank you very much. Can I ask Rodonyi to make comment about the questions? Again, I refrain, how can submarine cable resilience be better integrated into a broader connectivity and data inclusion agenda? How can such integrations not only consider deployment, but also longevity and long-term resilience? Thank you very much.

Rodney Taylor: For me, the discussion is really all about connectivity and digital inclusion, and therefore we are interested in the topic of submarine cable resilience because we are interested in connectivity and digital inclusion, in particular for underserved regions and for small developing countries. And therefore, it is not necessarily or only about protecting investments in subsea cables. I think Robert mentioned in the panel before that without investors, things don’t happen. That is absolutely true. So if you’re making an investment, it has to be profitable. But I think it has to go beyond short-term profitability to longer-term connectivity goals, to addressing issues of the underserved regions. Because if you look at it even from an investment point of view, these are customers that also need to be connected. So if we ensure the resilience of cable systems, for me that resilience also means for small countries that they have access, even though the numbers don’t add up. I mentioned that we have some countries with 4,000 in the Caribbean. I’m sure within the Pacific Islands, there are countries with less than that. And therefore, it may not be attractive from an investment point of view. But I think we have to, if we look at it from the point of view of addressing global inequality. I think we have to factor that in, and so, again, for me, the discussion is really all about connectivity and digital inclusion. I think when we do our national strategies, our national digital agendas, that the issue of resilience of cable systems is important, because there’s no point advancing a digital agenda at the national level, and the international connectivity is weak, and so, for us, in addition to resilience of submarine cable systems, we’ve been promoting things like internet exchange points within the Caribbean, so that if the traffic is local, it should stay local. We have situations where even domestic traffic goes up, say, to the United States or to an exchange in North America, or to Europe, in fact, as well, to return to the national borders, so we also promote a more efficient routing of internet traffic, in addition to resiliency of international transit. So they have to be embedded within national digital agendas, the issue of ensuring the resiliency of these cables, and also even, I think it was addressed earlier, identifying them as critical infrastructure, and therefore, if it is critical, it has to have all the protection of legislation and regulation. So I will just sum up by saying, yes, there’s a short-term imperative for a return on investment, but there has to be a longer-term consideration for addressing the needs of underserved regions and small countries, that has to be a longer-term goal, it has to be facilitated by development agencies. and development banks like the World Bank. It is not the only bank, but it is certainly one of the institutions that can help. We have worked with the World Bank before on a project called CARSIP within the region, the Caribbean Regional Infrastructure Program, and that went a long way in improving connectivity in some of the countries within the Eastern Caribbean states. So, I will reiterate, for us this conversation is all about inclusion and bridging connectivity gaps. And in order to do that, we have to ensure the resilience of these submarine cable systems, and that, for me, is a means to an end. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you. So, my continuous question is, in view of your previous answer, what do you think will be the biggest breakthrough in 2025?

Rodney Taylor: In 2025, the big corporations that are laying record-breaking submarine cable systems will make provisions to small countries in the Caribbean by providing branches off those cables to the Caribbean, to Africa, to the Pacific Islands. That will be a big breakthrough, and that’s my prediction. In addition, of course, I have to say something about AI, and I believe, and it came up in one of the previous panels as well, that we have to leverage artificial intelligence to be more proactive in terms of any impending disasters, so monitoring for sure, use of robotics to advance cable repairs, and the notion that in 2025, 2026, Africa has to wait for a ship to cross the ocean to address a cable break, to me, is something that should not continue, and therefore, if we have to look at how can we automate some of this repair through the use of robotics and artificial intelligence. And I think that that’s the direction that the industry should go in. I’m sure it’s being done, and I know robotics are already being used, but I think it’s an opportunity to address, in particular, where you can’t have ships parked off the coast of Africa waiting, that we can look at how we can use robotics and AI to address issues of cable repair. Thank you.

Koji Ono: Thank you very much. Yeah. These are all the questions today for panel five. Do we have a time for a question for this forum? Two questions. Okay, thank you. So, could you raise hand? Thank you. Thank you.

Audience: Thank you. Very insightful session. Thank you very much, Ms. Moser, for that very insightful aspect of use case in Japan. Resilience, concentration, action, all that. Then, of course, Mr. Yang on AI. Then, of course, my friend from Caribbean. In 2007, when we launched our communication startlights, communication startlight on its own does not provide content. There has to be integration of communication startlight to terrestrial infrastructure, where you build your teleport. Then, of course, content, STM1, STM1 to your hub, and to the transponder of the startlight. And then, the only cable lighting up West Africa, particularly the shores of Lagos, was SAT-3. But there was incense that caught. But because Dakar in Senegal has cable restoration potential between SAT-3 and Atlantis-2, that was commissioned, decommissioned 2022. two, if you look at the consortium of people that made up SATRI and the consortium for Atlantis II, which was more of like Portugal, European telecommunications, and also SATAR, but they were able to come together somehow in a round table, and there was connectivity between these two cable to enhance self-healing networks, to enhance redundancy. Reason why we went as far as Dakar, to negotiate with Sonata to co-locate a teleport antenna to offer resilience and quality of experience to our customer via the communications satellite. But of course, the satellite had an issue in 2009. It failed, not missing, due to solar array drive anomaly. So by the time we launched in 2011, we had several cable already landing in coastal shelf of West Africa, in Nigeria in particular, and there was no need again to actually go about as far as Dakar. But if you look at those that deployed cable in the late 2010s to 2015, there are no more of consortium anymore. It’s more of sometimes even single entrepreneurs, single-handedly deploying cable. So the question is, now there has been paradigm shift from issue of consortium government of nations to individuals deploying cable. So I appreciate the contribution of Mrs. Moser for the need for collaboration, synergy, collaboration, collaboration, and collaboration again. Now when we deploy this critical infrastructure, there should be connectivity, there should be room for, you get it, it’s gonna be difficult, but there has to be some kind of metrics. And understanding and discussions that comes of frameworks that comes into, look let’s do these to enhance cable restoration potential to hand as redundancy between one cable and the other to enhance, even what we’re talking about the Because, of course, where you don’t have those stock of poor redundancy. So self-healing networks introduces lots of delay and delay and delay. So this is what I want to bring to the table. In addition to all that we’ll be discussing here, there has to be at the level of the kind of association that you belong to, Mrs. Moser, you get it, there has to be some kind of cooperative synergy talks, some kind of framework to guide those who go into COVID deployment to synergize, to keep room for connectivity points. And, of course, that will also enhance islands in the middle of nowhere, Caribbean countries, because when they come land there, then at that landing point, there will be some kind of a way, a gateway, a connectivity that we had in Dakar that brings about more resiliency to this. And, of course, I also appreciate, this is 20, this is 20, this is 21st century, the need for use of robotics, you get it, to also patrol, you get it, that will enhance what AI will do, you get it, sensing technologies that can sense where you have issues of imminent failure and all of that. I want to appreciate the panelists for a very insightful discussion here. Thank you very much.

Koji Ono: Thank you. Anyone? Regarding the question, we got of table restoration? OK.

Rodney Taylor: If I must say, it’s not. It’s not a question, it’s actually some kind of contribution.

Koji Ono: Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I would like to comment about the restoration issues. I have once worked as an AR and RSC, I mean the assignment restoration and routing subcommittee for CME with three. That was a very headache project to have a mutual restoration, however nowadays every cable system does have a direct wavelength connections, direct wavelength access, which is very easy to switch to the other restoration capacities. So I do believe that whenever we have a new cable system, such aspects must be considered beforehand in mutual restoration arrangements. And thank you very much for your comments. One more question? Yeah. Okay. This one, do you have find out the answer regarding my first question? What is the major factor regarding reducing the outage? I do believe our discussion here, give you the already good answers for that. Yep. So I do believe that the collaborations, the usage of submarine cable, and in… increase of restorations, and also the cable landing itself will be the drastic improvement of the cable resiliency. Thank you very much, everybody. And thank you for this discussion here. Thank you.

Announcer: Thank you very much. That’s panel five, Ensuring Digital Resilience. If we could have them up front to have a group photograph. Many thanks to our moderator, Mr. Koji Ono, Mr. Rodney Taylor, Nomsa Wayenga, Yongbo Tang, and Mr. Sangbu Kim. If you could move forward, please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Koji Ono:

Agreement points

Importance of collaboration for connectivity in underserved regions

Speakers

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Sangbu Kim
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Collaboration with actionable strategies needed

Regional/multi-country approach needed to attract investment

Balance profitability with connectivity goals for underserved regions

Summary

Speakers agreed on the need for collaboration and multi-stakeholder approaches to improve connectivity in underserved regions and small island states.

Repurposing submarine cables for various uses

Speakers

– Rodney Taylor
– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Sangbu Kim

Arguments

Repurposing cables can improve connectivity cost-effectively

Repurpose cables for oceanographic/climate research

Research and development important for repurposing cables

Develop standardized processes for assessing reusability

Summary

Speakers agreed on the potential benefits of repurposing submarine cables for improving connectivity in underserved regions and for scientific research, emphasizing the need for R&D and standardized processes.

Leveraging AI and new technologies for cable management

Speakers

– Yongbo Tang
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Use AI to improve submarine cable operations

Leverage AI and robotics for proactive disaster monitoring/repair

Summary

Speakers agreed on the potential of AI and new technologies to improve submarine cable operations, monitoring, and repair.

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of policy and regulatory measures to support submarine cable development and resilience.

Speakers

– Sangbu Kim
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Public policy reform and engagement with local governments crucial

Provide tax/licensing incentives for cable repurposing

Identify submarine cables as critical infrastructure

Both speakers highlighted the importance of research and development in finding new uses for submarine cables, particularly in scientific applications.

Speakers

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Research and development important for repurposing cables

Repurpose cables for oceanographic/climate research

Unexpected consensus

Holistic approach to submarine cable ecosystem

Speakers

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Koji Ono
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Research and development important for repurposing cables

Reduce outages through ecosystem approach

Embed cable resilience in national digital strategies

Explanation

There was an unexpected consensus on the need for a holistic, ecosystem-wide approach to submarine cable resilience, considering factors beyond just the cables themselves.

Overall assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement included the importance of collaboration for improving connectivity in underserved regions, the potential of repurposing submarine cables, and the role of new technologies in cable management. There was also consensus on the need for supportive policies and regulations.

Consensus level

The level of consensus among speakers was relatively high, with multiple shared viewpoints on key issues. This suggests a common understanding of the challenges and potential solutions in submarine cable resilience, which could facilitate coordinated efforts to improve global connectivity and digital inclusion.

Different viewpoints

Approach to improving connectivity in underserved regions

Speakers

– Yongbo Tang
– Sangbu Kim
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Use submarine cables to promote Internet of Things systems

Regional/multi-country approach needed to attract investment

Repurposing cables can improve connectivity cost-effectively

Summary

The speakers propose different primary approaches to improving connectivity in underserved regions, ranging from promoting IoT systems to regional investment strategies to repurposing existing cables.

Unexpected differences

Overall assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the specific strategies for improving connectivity in underserved regions and the approaches to repurposing submarine cables.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among the speakers is relatively low. Most speakers agree on the overall goals but propose different methods or focus areas to achieve them. This suggests a collaborative environment where diverse approaches can be integrated to address the complex challenges of submarine cable resilience and digital inclusion.

Partial agreements

All speakers agree on the importance of repurposing cables, but they differ on the specific focus areas: Nomsa emphasizes R&D, Kim stresses shared information on lifecycle management, and Taylor highlights oceanographic and climate research applications.

Speakers

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Sangbu Kim
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Research and development important for repurposing cables

Create shared information on cable lifecycle management

Repurpose cables for oceanographic/climate research

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of policy and regulatory measures to support submarine cable development and resilience.

Speakers

– Sangbu Kim
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Public policy reform and engagement with local governments crucial

Provide tax/licensing incentives for cable repurposing

Identify submarine cables as critical infrastructure

Both speakers highlighted the importance of research and development in finding new uses for submarine cables, particularly in scientific applications.

Speakers

– Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga
– Rodney Taylor

Arguments

Research and development important for repurposing cables

Repurpose cables for oceanographic/climate research

Key takeaways

Collaboration and ecosystem approaches are crucial for improving submarine cable resilience and connectivity for underserved regions

Repurposing and reusing submarine cables can improve connectivity cost-effectively for underserved areas

Integrating submarine cable resilience into national digital strategies and broader connectivity agendas is important

Leveraging new technologies like AI and robotics can improve submarine cable monitoring, repair, and operations

Balancing profitability with connectivity goals for underserved regions is necessary

Resolutions and action items

Develop standardized processes for assessing submarine cable reusability

Create shared information systems on cable lifecycle management

Develop data repositories on cable repurposing efforts

Integrate cable resilience considerations into national digital strategies

Explore use of AI and robotics for proactive disaster monitoring and cable repair

Unresolved issues

Specific mechanisms for incentivizing and funding cable repurposing efforts

Details on how to balance profitability with connectivity goals for underserved areas

Concrete plans for improving collaboration between stakeholders in the submarine cable ecosystem

Exact methods for integrating submarine cable resilience into broader connectivity agendas

Suggested compromises

Using repurposed cables for shorter regional networks rather than long-haul routes

Balancing cable repurposing with new deployments based on cost-effectiveness

Combining private investment with public funding to support connectivity for underserved regions

I can’t overemphasize the need for collaboration. So it starts with that, but collaboration from a holistic point of view. And maybe the only thing I can think of would be collaboration with actionable strategies and actionable tasks.

Speaker

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga

Reason

This comment emphasizes the critical importance of collaboration while also pushing for concrete actions rather than just discussion. It sets a tone of practical problem-solving.

Impact

It shifted the conversation towards more specific, actionable ideas for improving connectivity in underserved regions. Subsequent speakers built on this theme of collaboration with tangible outcomes.

I think some approach to make some cluster among some small countries is really crucial. Usually, as you know, this very small country has less chance to get some substitute cable access to their territory. So in order to have some better opportunity and chance, definitely some multi-country approach are needed.

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Reason

This comment introduces a strategic approach to addressing connectivity challenges for smaller countries by proposing regional clustering. It offers a practical solution to a complex problem.

Impact

It broadened the discussion from individual country approaches to regional strategies, leading to further exploration of how international cooperation could improve connectivity for underserved areas.

Therefore, rather than simply abandoning a cable, it can be commissioned for oceanographic research, climate monitoring, seismic activity detection. And this in itself can help to address the issue of sustainability, climate change and so on, because we’re hearing a lot about debt for climate swap, for example, and perhaps this repurposing a cable to monitor conditions in the ocean and to address issues of climate change could be potentially funded by organizations like the World Bank and others, or other countries that offer concessionary financing.

Speaker

Rodney Taylor

Reason

This comment creatively links the repurposing of submarine cables to broader environmental and scientific goals, suggesting innovative ways to fund and utilize aging infrastructure.

Impact

It expanded the conversation beyond just connectivity to include environmental sustainability and scientific research, prompting discussion on how to integrate multiple objectives in submarine cable projects.

Digital economy is a new engine that drives the development of global economy. The International Sea Basin is also a pillar of our digital economy, or a solid support. So I also think it is really necessary to integrate our Sea Basin into the wider Internet of Things and digital inclusiveness.

Speaker

Yongbo Tang

Reason

This comment frames submarine cables within the broader context of the digital economy and Internet of Things, emphasizing their crucial role in global development.

Impact

It shifted the discussion towards considering how submarine cable infrastructure fits into larger technological and economic trends, prompting consideration of long-term strategic planning.

Overall assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by consistently pushing it towards more holistic, strategic, and innovative approaches to submarine cable development and management. They encouraged participants to think beyond immediate technical challenges to consider broader economic, environmental, and social impacts. The discussion evolved from focusing on specific connectivity issues to exploring how submarine cable infrastructure can be integrated into larger goals of digital inclusion, scientific research, and sustainable development. This broader perspective led to more creative problem-solving and emphasis on international collaboration and long-term planning.

How can we develop actionable strategies and tasks for collaboration to improve connectivity in underserved regions?

Speaker

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga

Explanation

This is important to move beyond discussion-level collaboration to concrete actions that can improve connectivity.

What lessons can be learned from countries like Singapore, Japan, Australia, and Iceland in improving connectivity and resilience?

Speaker

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga

Explanation

Learning from successful examples could help develop strategies for underserved regions.

How can we create a repository of lessons learned from different countries in improving submarine cable connectivity?

Speaker

Nomsa Muswai Mwayenga

Explanation

This would provide valuable information for countries looking to improve their connectivity.

How can we promote cooperation between low-income and low-tech countries to get more funding, technology, and tax benefits for submarine cable construction?

Speaker

Yongbo Tang

Explanation

This could help attract more international capital to participate in building networks in underserved areas.

How can we use digital applications to expand the scope of business and promote economic development in underserved areas?

Speaker

Yongbo Tang

Explanation

This could help create demand and justify investment in submarine cable infrastructure.

How can we reform public policy and licensing processes to encourage submarine cable development?

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Explanation

Policy reform is crucial for attracting investment and facilitating submarine cable projects.

How can we develop multi-country approaches or clusters to improve chances of attracting submarine cable investment for small countries?

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Explanation

This approach could make projects more viable for smaller countries that might not attract investment individually.

How can governments invest in digital services and e-government to increase demand for cable network traffic?

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Explanation

Creating demand is crucial for justifying and sustaining submarine cable investments.

How can we develop international agreements or norms for managing the life cycle of submarine cable systems?

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Explanation

This is important for addressing the issue of abandoned cables and ensuring responsible management of cable systems.

How can we standardize the process of assessing whether cables can be repurposed or should be cleared?

Speaker

Sangbu Kim

Explanation

This would help make informed decisions about the fate of old cable systems and potentially increase repurposing.

How can we better support scientific institutes in maintaining and eventually removing repurposed cables?

Speaker

Koji Ono

Explanation

This is crucial for the long-term viability of using old cables for scientific purposes.

How can we leverage AI and robotics to improve submarine cable monitoring, repair, and resilience?

Speaker

Rodney Taylor

Explanation

This could significantly improve the speed and efficiency of cable maintenance and repair, especially in remote areas.

How can we ensure that new large-scale submarine cable projects include provisions for connecting small countries and underserved regions?

Speaker

Rodney Taylor

Explanation

This could help address connectivity issues in underserved areas as part of larger cable projects.

How can we develop frameworks for cooperation between different cable operators to enhance cable restoration potential and redundancy?

Speaker

Audience member

Explanation

This could improve overall network resilience and help address issues in underserved areas.