Editing Submarine communications cable (section)

===Investment and finances===
[[File:African_undersea_cables_v44.jpg|thumb|alt=Modern fiber-optic cable around Africa's coast.|A map of active and anticipated submarine communications cables servicing the African continent in 2020.]]

A typical multi-terabit, transoceanic submarine cable system costs several hundred million dollars to construct.<ref>{{cite news |author=Gardiner, Bryan |date=2008-02-25 |title=Google's Submarine Cable Plans Get Official |url=https://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/02/googles-submari |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428222444/http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/02/googles-submari |archive-date=2012-04-28 |magazine=Wired |format=PDF}}</ref> Almost all fiber-optic cables from TAT-8 in 1988 until approximately 1997 were constructed by consortia of operators. For example, TAT-8 counted 35 participants including most major international carriers at the time such as [[AT&T Corporation]].<ref>{{citation |author=Dunn, John |title=Talking the Light Fantastic |date=March 1987 |journal=The Rotarian}}</ref> Two privately financed, non-consortium cables were constructed in the late 1990s, which preceded a massive, speculative rush to construct privately financed cables that peaked in more than $22&nbsp;billion worth of investment between 1999 and 2001. This was followed by the bankruptcy and reorganization of cable operators such as [[Global Crossing]], [[360networks]], [[Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe|FLAG]], [[Worldcom]], and Asia Global Crossing. [[Tata Communications]]' Global Network (TGN) is the only wholly owned fiber network circling the planet.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dormon |first1=Bob |date=26 May 2016 |title=How the Internet works: Submarine fiber, brains in jars, and coaxial cables |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/05/how-the-internet-works-submarine-cables-data-centres-last-mile/ |access-date=November 28, 2020 |website=Ars Technica |publisher=Condé Nast}}</ref>

Some governments have invested in cables. For example, [[Tonga Cable System|Tonga-Fiji Submarine Cable System]] is owned and operated by Tonga Cable Limited, which developed and manages the cable with financing support from the [[Asian Development Bank]] and [[World Bank]]. Tonga Cable Limited is a public enterprise 80% owned by the government. In China, three state-owned companies in China—[[China Mobile]], [[China Telecom]], and [[China Unicom]]—invested in undersea cables. In the United States, the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] owns over 40,000 nautical miles of various subsea cables.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protection of Undersea Telecommunication Cables: Issues for Congress |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R47648.pdf |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.congress.gov}}{{source-attribution}}</ref>

Most cables in the 20th century crossed the Atlantic Ocean, to connect the United States and Europe.  However, capacity in the Pacific Ocean was much expanded starting in the 1990s.  For example, between 1998 and 2003, approximately 70% of undersea fiber-optic cable was laid in the Pacific.  This is in part a response to the emerging significance of Asian markets in the global economy.<ref>Lindstrom, A. (1999, January 1). Taming the terrors of the deep. America's Network, 103(1), 5–16.</ref>

After decades of heavy investment in already developed markets such as the transatlantic and transpacific routes, efforts increased in the 21st century to expand the submarine cable network to serve the [[Developing World]].  For instance, in July 2009, an underwater fiber-optic cable line plugged East Africa into the broader Internet.  The company that provided this new cable was [[SEACOM (African cable system)|SEACOM]], which is 75% owned by East African and South African investors.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEACOM – South Africa – East Africa – South Asia – Fiber Optic Cable |url=http://www.seacom.mu/index2.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208221700/http://www.seacom.mu/index2.asp |archive-date=2010-02-08 |access-date=2010-04-25}} SEACOM (2010)</ref>  The project was delayed by a month due to increased [[piracy]] along the coast.<ref>{{cite news |author=McCarthy, Diane |date=2009-07-27 |title=Cable makes big promises for African Internet |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/22/seacom.on/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125042844/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/22/seacom.on/index.html |archive-date=2009-11-25 |work=CNN}}</ref>

Investments in cables present a commercial risk because cables cover 6,200 km of ocean floor, cross submarine mountain ranges and rifts. Because of this most companies only purchase capacity after the cable is finished.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title='Visionary' fund for early stage European infrastructure backed by nations and EU |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/pan-european-infrastructure-fund |access-date=2021-04-16 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=15 May 2013 |title=Background {{!}} Marguerite |url=https://www.marguerite.com/about-us/background/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813021312/http://www.marguerite.com/about-us/background/ |archive-date=2020-08-13 |access-date=2021-04-16 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=James Griffiths |date=26 July 2019 |title=The global internet is powered by vast undersea cables. But they're vulnerable. |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/asia/internet-undersea-cables-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2021-04-16 |website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2017-10-18 |title=Harnessing submarine cables to save lives |url=https://en.unesco.org/courier/2017-october-december/harnessing-submarine-cables-save-lives |access-date=2021-04-16 |website=UNESCO |language=en}}</ref>