Past, Current and Future Technologies for Optical Submarine Cables

Abstract

Optical submarine cables are a crucial infrastructure as they convey 99% of internet traffic between countries and continents. Although, their history is rooted in the middle in the 19th Century with the first transatlantic telegraph cable, the uninterrupted strong growth of current internet traffic has been a prime motivation for the introduction of several disruptive technologies. In this paper, we review technologies used in past and current optical submarine cables, as well as future technological trends to increase their capacity.