Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.1 Distribution of earth stations capable of international traffic. Source Compiled by author
from CIA Factbook,
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/factbook
fibers each and are ideal for high-capacity, point-to-point transmissions. Moreover,
fiber cables do not corrode or conduct electricity, which renders them immune to
electromagnetic disturbances such as thunderstorms. The transmission capacities
of fiber optics grew rapidly in the late twentieth century as the microelectronics
revolution unfolded. Financial and producer services firms were at the forefront of
the construction of a vast, seamless integrated network of fiber cable because they
allowed the deployment of electronic funds transfer systems, which comprise the
nervous system of the international financial economy, allowing banks to move
capital around a moment's notice, arbitrage interest rate differentials, take
advantage of favorable exchange rates, and avoid political unrest (Warf
1995
).
Fiber carriers are heavily favored by large corporations for data transmissions and
by financial institutions for electronic funds transfer systems, in large part because
of the higher degrees of security and redundancy this medium offers. Although
their transmission costs have also declined, satellites have failed to match the latest
leaps in fiber optics capacity and can compete with transoceanic submarine cables
only with great and mounting difficulty; today, 94 % of all international tele-
communications is transmitted via cables (Warf
2006
). As their competitive edge
has eroded, satellite providers have been steadily forced to serve markets in
low-density regions, relatively low-profit arenas compared to the lucrative high-
volume, corporate data transmissions market.
Large fiber networks are generally owned and operated by consortia of firms.
Until the 1990s, all commercial fiber lines were built, used, and paid for by a
handful of monopoly carriers such as AT&T, British Telecom, Japan's Kokusai
Denshin Denwa (KDD), known informally in the industry as ''The Club.'' The
Club system allowed telecommunications carriers to construct and own undersea
cables and to serve as their users or vendors. Typically, landing facilities are
owned by carriers from the country in which the facility is located but the ''wet
links'' (undersea cables) are jointly owned by club members. Under the club
system, AT&T, for example, ventured aggressively into the international fiber
optics market as it globalized in the face of declining market share in the U.S.,
