In January of 2021, the SubOptic Association—the leading industry trade body for the fiber optic submarine cable industry—launched the SubOptic Foundation, a nonprofit focused on supporting education and research initiatives to prepare fiber optic leaders of tomorrow for critical challenges facing the industry.
Over 99 percent of current intercontinental Internet traffic is supported by submarine telecommunications cables. Despite the necessity of these networks for global communications—and all the job opportunities they raise—many members of the public don’t even know they exist.
In the not-too-distant past, large telecom incumbents had their own training academies where technical school and university graduates would learn specifics about the company’s networks, technologies, and standard operating procedures. These environments brought students into a space of cultural exchange and learning to apply their formal training to the real world.
With deregulation, increased market pressures, and lower margins, academies are a distant memory. Formal training for this industry is now rare, and there are no major university courses on submarine fiber optic cable networks. Still, the importance of subsea cables and connectivity continues to escalate, especially at the regional level in Asia, Africa, and South America (where local content and applications are developing with an insatiable appetite for bandwidth and 5G/6G mobile technology will require better, faster, and more reliable subsea technology).
So, how do we reach and retain the next generation of subsea cable professionals to address these looming challenges? We believe there should be a broad, integrated, industry-wide educational curriculum on subsea cable systems and digital infrastructures.
To establish this foundation, we need to reach further into schools and universities and partner with related industry associations and educational institutions to generate awareness and foster a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable industry. Regional education is likewise essential in developing an effective workforce.
