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With more than 350,000 km of installed and maintained fiber optic cable under its belt, Tyco Telecommunications turns an eye toward providing wide-band- width fiber optic communication pipelines for the burgeoning offshore oil and gas market. — by Greg Trauthwein Despite centuries of exploration and work underwater, including the last 50 years in which technological capability has exponentially expanded the ability to work more efficiently in the ocean's depths, it is fair to say that the knowl- edge regarding 70 percent of our planet is still in its pioneering stage. Enter Tyco Telecommunications, an undersea cable and sensor equipment provider that has deployed short and long haul global communications net- works in the world's oceans for many years. Not only does Tyco Telecommunications install the fiber optic cables and ancillary systems, it is often responsible to maintain and repair them as needed. To enable the rapid recovery and repair of damaged cable, Tyco maintains a fleet of eight modern, strategically positioned ships and nine product depots around the globe. "We've installed 350,000 km of fiber optic cable, including 2,200 amplifiers, and we've never had a product related fault that force the recovery of an ampli- fier," said Frank Cuccio, Vice President Marine Services for Tyco Telecommunications. Cuccio has the responsibility for the marine engineering, construction and maintenance for everything that Tyco Telecommunications builds, and thus is involved at the earliest phase of any project, to help determine the customer needs and devise an appropriate solu- tion. Cuccio counts the engineering phase of the project as perhaps the most critical step of all. "The nature of the submarine business is a very demand- ing, turnkey and unforgiving. The engi- neering must be correct right from the start." Considering that many trans- oceanic cables lie more than 3.5 miles beneath the surface, the rationale for extensive front-end planning is easily understood. First and foremost, a logical route for cable and burial depth, given seabed conditions and the nature of the shipping lane, must be set. Cuccio said that, by far, the biggest threat to a cable system 28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Tyco Telecommunications Lays its Mark MR MAY2006 #4 (25-32).qxd 5/8/2006 11:36 AM Page 28
