NEC enters petabit era with new submarine cable technology

NEC is entering the era of petabit-scale data transmission with the announcement of its new optical submarine cable system, ‘Petal’. Takahiro Kashima, Director of NEC’s Marine Business Development Division, stated that as traditional multi-core fiber approaches its capacity limits, the industry is shifting toward multi-core fiber technology to achieve 1 Pbps speeds.

NEC currently holds approximately 25% of the global submarine cable market, positioning itself as one of the three major global vendors. The company has a significant track record, having laid approximately 450,000 km of cable—equivalent to 11 times the Earth's circumference. To support future growth, NEC plans to transition from chartering cable-laying vessels to owning its own fleet, despite the long lead times required for shipbuilding.

The submarine cable market is expanding rapidly due to rising demand from AI, cloud computing, and data centers, with the market projected to reach 500 billion yen annually from 2025 onwards. However, the industry faces challenges regarding cable security, specifically the intentional cutting of cables in conflict zones. NEC noted that while cables can be buried deeper near coasts, monitoring suspicious vessels is also necessary to mitigate these risks.