Comments on: Can Optic Cables Predict Economic Shifts?

By: Google’s Bet on Asian Bandwidth Boom Will Likely Pay Off

Google’s Bet on Asian Bandwidth Boom Will Likely Pay Off — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:31:49 +0000

[...] broadband consumers as well as areas within the region. Om said such an investment in cables could presage an economic boom. From my standpoint what the new construction most likely means is that costs will go down for [...]

By: Miami Firm Plans First U.S.-Cuba Fiber Optic Cable

Miami Firm Plans First U.S.-Cuba Fiber Optic Cable — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:43:53 +0000

[...] Cuba — which is the only nation in the Western Hemisphere without a fiber optic link to the outside world — has yet to give final approval to land the cable, and the Cuban government would set calling rates and could restrict web access. But it’s tough to overstate how important fiber optic access could be. While Cuba currently uses slow, expensive satellite links, TeleCuba’s cable would support 8-10 terabits per second, enough for more than 160 million simultaneous phone calls. So while Cubans may still be stuck with antiquated American cars, they may soon have access to modern American broadband — and that could be very good news for the Cuban economy. [...]

By: How Much Bandwidth Can You Buy With $15,000?

How Much Bandwidth Can You Buy With $15,000? — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:15:03 +0000

[...] can have a major impact on businesses and economic activity, as I argued in an earlier post, Can Optical Cables Predict Economic Shifts? In Africa, the growing bandwidth demand comes from a boom in mobile services, which in turn [...]

By: Anders Comstedt

Anders Comstedt — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:31:11 +0000

Dear Om, having had a chance to follow the international submarine cable saga in East Africa the last decade and also participated in some studies and policy meetings on the issue, I can just confirm the change. Not least of mindset behind this development. And still you find significant differences between countries. It is no doubt that more progressive policy makers with a clear perspective on their reasons for changing the game is the key asset. Kenya is a good example (other political chaos disregarded). The reason to push international connectivity was as multifaceted as in other places, but compeating with the Indians on outsourcing was a clearly visible single goal. ” I have 20000 graduate students that we need to get into jobs right away just in Nairobi and not have in the streets” as one official put it well before the election riots (and the financial meltdown). In the year to come there will be 3 new cable systems connecting Mombasa to ROW. Two are just weeks away….

Taking care of the international voice traffic could be possible still, for a good while at last, by using satellite. The big thing is the general Internet explosion just about to happen. And true, it will be lots of wireless access, but a lot of fiber, not only national backbones, also metro rings are just about to happen. Outside of capitals and a few district towns there is no copper, period. There may be 10 million cell phones to less than 200,000 POTS lines.

A key problem is still licensing and gatekeeping, not handling commercial risks. Sound policy making is still in short supply. Actually, South Africa, by many in the west oddly looked upon as a liberal and advanced market, has systematically been shooting themselves in the foot until just a few months ago in protecting vested interests in Telkom. It was illegal to have a WiFi signal crossing the street… Alternative fibre was held back by not granting licenses etc. Could easily been much more dynamic.

Creating and exploiting bottlenecks is a normality that needs to go. Everywhere in Africa. If that happens, and the political risks in general are reduced a little bit further for the telecom/ICT industry, we will see a very rapid development, likely moving faster than resources seem to allow if we just look at GDP and disposable income. Considering those indicators, there are far too many mobile phones in Africa. The difference is the informal economy not visible in stats.

It will move fast now, also with relative growth of number of Internet users. The biggest problems? Bell heads and vested business interests.

By: Demand for Bandwidth Leads to Fiber Boom

Demand for Bandwidth Leads to Fiber Boom — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:59:01 +0000

[...] More than 60 percent of U.S. network operators surveyed will light new fiber on their network in 2009, and there are 16 planned undersea cable projects for 2009. That’s more than the number of cables laid in 2001, during the peak of the submarine cable investment bubble. This time around it will be cheaper, too, with the firm estimating the planned cable construction will cost $2.6 billion compared to $13.5 billion spent on systems back in 2001. The buildout in undersea optical cables should be viewed as a good thing, especially if Om is correct when he points out that network growth often presages an economic boom. [...]

By: Title For First Section | Beta Test

Title For First Section | Beta Test — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:38:48 +0000

[...] gains because of growth in Asia, where it has started to offer transit services to more carriers. As we have noted previously, the growth in traffic in Asia is driven by the surge in the economic activity in the region, along [...]

By: Level 3 Has The Largest IP Network

Level 3 Has The Largest IP Network — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:14:20 +0000

[...] gains because of a growth in Asia, where is started to offer transit services to more carriers. As we have noted previously, the growth in traffic in Asia is driven by the surge in the economic activity in the region along [...]

By: It is World Wide Internet, For Real This Time - GigaOM

It is World Wide Internet, For Real This Time - GigaOM — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:43:35 +0000

[...] Can optic cables predict economic shifts? [...]

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:17:54 +0000

@David

I wouldn’t go that far. That is Guam, and not quite that hot a place. By the way I am not sure what kind of bandwidth they have on the island. :-)

By: David Spanne

David Spanne — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:38:03 +0000

Hi Om,
Quick question about the map. There is a lot of bandwidth that heads south out of Japan, and ends out in the western Pacific. What is this tropical island with lots of bandwidth? Guam? Kwajalein? Wake? Looks like a great place to live.
Thanks
David