The overall submarine cable system market is expected to grow from USD 11.74 billion in 2018 to USD 20.93 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 12.25%. The growth of the submarine communication cable market is propelled by the increasing internet traffic in APAC and rising number of internet users. New offshore wind capacity additions and high demand for inter-country and island connections are the key factors driving the growth of the submarine power cable market. However, high installation costs and complexity in repair operations of deepwater cables are among the major factors restraining the growth of this market.
Submarine communication cable market has been segmented on the basis of offerings into installation and commissioning, maintenance, and upgrades. The installation and commissioning segment held the largest share of the submarine communication cable market in 2017. Increasing internet traffic in APAC with the growing internet penetration is fuelling the requirement for more bandwidth across the region. APAC is likely to witness a rising installation and commissioning of new submarine communication systems during the forecast period. Further, growing number of internet users across the Middle East and Africa will boost the demand for submarine communication cables in the coming years.

The submarine communication cable market has been segmented on the basis of 5 regions, namely, trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, Americas, Europe-Asia, and EMEA. Trans-Atlantic accounted for the largest share of the submarine communication cable market in 2017. This region has more than 13 communication cable systems with a capacity of 308 Tbps and 4 additional planned submarine cable systems with a capacity of 262 Tbps. Traffic on the trans-Atlantic route skyrocketed in the late 1990s and continued through 2003. Thereafter, the market witnessed a decade-long break from new developments. However, investments in submarine cable infrastructure are on the rise again. Also, cable systems on this route are aging; hence, new cable systems are likely to be installed in the near future. The modern submarine fiber system, which will be marketed under the brand name America Europe Connect-2, is likely to witness an exploding demand from the data center and cloud service providers, owing to the availability of massive bandwidth of nearly 80 Tbps. The average system length of the finally developed cable system in the trans-Atlantic region was roughly 12,000 km; most systems take similar routes from Europe to the US.

The submarine power cable market has been analyzed on the basis of 5 regions, namely, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. Europe is expected to lead the global submarine power cable market by 2023. The market size in this region can be attributed to the booming offshore wind industry, of which submarine power cables are one of the critical components. Countries such as the UK and Germany are the key markets in Europe for submarine power cables. The growing demand for inter-country connections, coupled with the rising requirement to generate electricity from offshore oil and gas plants is expected to drive the submarine power cable market in Europe.

Applications in communication and power sectors to drive growth of submarine cable system market
Communication Cables

Telecom carriers, mobile operators, multinational corporations, governments, content providers, and research institutions, among others, across the world rely on submarine communication cables to send and receive data. According to TeleGeography, as of 2018, there are over 1.2 million km of submarine communication cables in service all over the world. Communication cables were traditionally owned by telecom carriers that would form a consortium of all parties interested in using cables. Content providers such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon are the major investors in submarine communication cables. The increasing number deployment of high-capacity communication systems deployed by private network operators has led to the growing demand for these communication cables. There are 2 categories of measuring a cable’s capacity—potential capacity and lit capacity. Potential capacity is the maximum capacity of a submarine cable if the cable owner installed all available equipment at the ends of the cable. Lit capacity tracks the capacity available for use on a submarine cable, i.e., the actual traffic-carrying capability of the system. Cable owners rarely purchase and install transmission equipment to fully realize a cable’s potential from day one. Because this equipment is expensive, owners prefer to upgrade their cables gradually, depending on customer demand.
Power Cables

Submarine power cables are widely used to link shore-based power grids across bays, rivers, straits, etc. Nowadays, submarine cables carry power between countries and for offshore installations, e.g., oil/gas platforms and ocean science observatories. These cables also transfer power from offshore renewable energy schemes to shores, e.g., wind, wave, and tidal systems. A few more applications of these cables include power transfer from energy sources, including offshore renewable energy schemes, to consumers, interconnecting different regional electrical transmission networks to facilitate global energy trading and supply to remote areas. There are 2 types of submarine cables: high-voltage alternating current (HVAC), which is limited by transmission distance, normally less than 80 km; and high-voltage direct current (HVDC), used for longer distances and for system interconnection. For transmission, AC is converted to DC through cables, and back to AC at the other end. Diameters of these cables can go up to 300 mm, depending on the current-carrying capacity and degree of armor protection. Submarine oil/gas pipes can go up to a diameter of 1,500 mm, while submarine telecommunications cables can go up to a diameter of 17–50 mm, depending on armor.

Critical questions the report answers:

How developments in the market are beneficial for the players in the mid and long run?
What are upcoming applications of submarine cable systems?

The high cost of installation and complexity in repair operations of deepwater cables have hindered the growth of the market for submarine power cables. Any fault in this cable imposes significant costs on the repair and re-deployment processes.

Key players in the submarine power cable market include Prysmian (Italy), Nexans (France), NKT (Denmark), General Cable (US), and Sumitomo (Japan). Contracts and agreements were the most commonly adopted strategies by the top players in the market from 2015 to 2018. Further, investments and expansions, collaborations and partnerships, and new product launches were other major strategies followed by the top market players.