An era is coming where even if undersea cables are cut, we will not be completely disconnected from the world

It is not satellites floating in space that support global communications.

Even today, the vast majority of international communication passes through fiber-optic cables laid on the ocean floor. The reason we can view overseas websites, play videos, and use cloud services is because of the cables running along the bottom of the sea.

Because of this, news of undersea cable cuts makes people anxious.

If the cables connected to Japan were cut, wouldn't we lose access to the internet? Wouldn't communication with overseas countries be severed, causing finance, logistics, and even government administration to grind to a halt?

However, with the rise of satellite communications, the significance of undersea cable cuts is beginning to change little by little.

Undersea cables are the highways of communication

Undersea cables are excellent at transporting large amounts of data at high speeds.

In modern society, vast amounts of data cross borders every second, including video streaming, cloud services, financial transactions, inter-company communications, and AI processing.

At present, it is difficult to handle all of this using only satellite communications.

Considering communication capacity, speed, latency, and cost, undersea cables will likely remain the backbone of international communication for the foreseeable future.

In other words, even if satellite communications develop, undersea cables will not immediately become obsolete.

Satellite communication is an aerial detour

On the other hand, satellite communication has strengths that undersea cables do not.

It can deliver communications over a wide area even if ground facilities are destroyed.

If undersea cables are highways, satellite communication is akin to an aerial detour for when the highway is closed.

Normally, we use undersea cables, and only switch to satellites when a failure occurs.

Communication speeds might drop. It might become difficult to watch videos in high definition or send large files at high speeds.

Even so, if messages, location data, payments, disaster information, and government communications remain available, it becomes easier to avoid a complete societal shutdown.

What is important is not being able to use it at the same speed as always.

It is about not being completely isolated.

It will no longer be a matter of "connected or not connected"

Communication until now has had a relatively simple structure, depending on whether radio waves from a base station reach you or whether a fixed line is active.

However, in the future, we will use multiple communication methods depending on the situation.

Normally, we use optical fibers and base stations. In mountainous areas and at sea, we use satellites. In the event of a disaster, we switch from terrestrial lines to satellite lines.

Communication methods will no longer be limited to just one.

As a result, the possibility of an entire country losing communication just because a single undersea cable is cut will decrease.

We will reroute to another undersea cable, and if that is also difficult, we will switch to satellite.

The communication network itself will become multiplexed.

Radio towers will not disappear

One might think that as satellite communication develops, radio towers and mobile base stations will disappear in the future.

However, it is unlikely that they will disappear completely.

While satellite communication is suitable for covering wide areas, it is not good at processing the massive amount of communication concentrated in urban areas.

In places like train stations, downtown areas, densely populated residential areas, and concert venues, a very large number of people communicate in a short period of time.

In such places, terrestrial base stations near the users are more efficient.

Furthermore, satellite communication tends to be at a disadvantage indoors, underground, in tunnels, and between high-rise buildings.

Therefore, the communication network of the future will not be a choice between satellites or base stations.

We will use base stations in urban areas, satellites in mountainous areas and at sea, and both in the event of a disaster.

It is more natural to think that the division of roles will progress.

Toward a triple structure of ground, sea, and space

Future communication infrastructure will not be just on the ground, just under the sea, or just in space.

Terrestrial base stations, undersea cables, and low-Earth orbit satellites.

The structure will become a combination of these three.

Even if one of them stops working, traffic can be rerouted to another path.

This is not merely an advancement in communication technology. It is disaster preparedness, economic security, and national infrastructure defense.

Especially for an island nation like Japan, having multiple communication routes to the outside world is of great significance.

Even if an undersea cable is cut, high-speed communication will only slow down slightly, and minimal communication will remain.

If we can create such a state, there will be no need to be overly fearful of news about undersea cable cuts.

Undersea cables will not disappear

Even as satellite communication rises, undersea cables will not disappear.

Base stations will not disappear either.

Each will be used where it excels, and they will come to compensate for each other's weaknesses.

The future is not a world where all communication is replaced by satellites.

It is a world where even if undersea cables are cut or terrestrial base stations are destroyed, we can continue to stay connected to the world through other paths.

It is not that we will stop depending on undersea cables.

It is that we will stop depending solely on undersea cables.

That difference may be the greatest sense of security that satellite communication brings.

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