PTAT-1
Encyclopedia
PTAT-1 was the first privately financed transatlantic
fiber optic cable, which was completed in 1989, at a cost of 400 million US dollars.
It was maintained by C&W
and Sprint/PSI and connected Manasquan, New Jersey
, USA with Devonshire, Bermuda
and Ballinspittle
, Ireland
, terminating at Brean
, England
for a distance of 7,552 kilometres.
The significance of PTAT-1 is that it broke the international telecommunication monopoly
held by AT&T
and British Telecom for communications between the US and UK. When PTAT-1 filed for its Cable Landing License under the 1934 Cable Landing Act the idea of competitive international telecommunications was widely condemned by the international telecommunication establishment, i.e. the PTTs. By the time PTAT-1 was placed into service in 1989 competition was widely accepted.
PTAT-1 was built by a joint venture of a small private US company, Private TransAtlantic Telecommunication System
(founded as TelOptik in 1984) and Cable & Wireless
plc of the UK. The submarine system and line terminal equipment was provided by STC
and alarm and control system management by ICL. The US shore end was built by Lightwave Spectrum.
The UK to US section of the cable was shut down just after 2.00 a.m. on 8 February 2004 as it was no longer considered financially viable by Cable & Wireless. Competitors to the cable had dropped their prices drastically after they re-emerged from Chapter 11 with little or no debts to service, something C&W was unable to compete with.
This cable provided intelligent repeaters that counted bit errors which were reported in response to interrogation from a base station. It contained three fibre pairs which were used to provide two active channels. Each repeater included a base station controlled cross over data switch to swap traffic through a choice of two fibre pairs, the switch connections in successive repeaters enabled any desired connection to be made and provide a diversity path when required.
Transatlantic telephone cable
A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable running under the Atlantic Ocean. All modern cables use fibre optic technology....
fiber optic cable, which was completed in 1989, at a cost of 400 million US dollars.
It was maintained by C&W
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
and Sprint/PSI and connected Manasquan, New Jersey
Manasquan, New Jersey
-Government:Manasquan is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office and only...
, USA with Devonshire, Bermuda
Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
-Location:It is located in the centre of the territory, close to the junction between the main part of the main island and the peninsula containing the capital, Hamilton, and Pembroke Parish . To the northeast, it is joined to Smith's Parish, and to the southwest it borders Paget Parish. As with...
and Ballinspittle
Ballinspittle
Ballinspittle is a village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. It is in the parish of Courceys and lies about 8km south-west of Kinsale...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, terminating at Brean
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for a distance of 7,552 kilometres.
The significance of PTAT-1 is that it broke the international telecommunication monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
held by AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and British Telecom for communications between the US and UK. When PTAT-1 filed for its Cable Landing License under the 1934 Cable Landing Act the idea of competitive international telecommunications was widely condemned by the international telecommunication establishment, i.e. the PTTs. By the time PTAT-1 was placed into service in 1989 competition was widely accepted.
PTAT-1 was built by a joint venture of a small private US company, Private TransAtlantic Telecommunication System
PTAT Systems
Private Trans-Atlantic Telecommunication Systems, was an American telecommunications company.The company was created in March 1984 as Tel-Optik, and filed a Cable Landing License application in September 1984 and together with Cable and Wireless of the United Kingdom, built the first privately...
(founded as TelOptik in 1984) and Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
plc of the UK. The submarine system and line terminal equipment was provided by STC
Standard Telephones and Cables
Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd was a British telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications and related equipment R&D manufacturer. During its history STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies including PCM and optical fibres.The company began life in London as...
and alarm and control system management by ICL. The US shore end was built by Lightwave Spectrum.
The UK to US section of the cable was shut down just after 2.00 a.m. on 8 February 2004 as it was no longer considered financially viable by Cable & Wireless. Competitors to the cable had dropped their prices drastically after they re-emerged from Chapter 11 with little or no debts to service, something C&W was unable to compete with.
This cable provided intelligent repeaters that counted bit errors which were reported in response to interrogation from a base station. It contained three fibre pairs which were used to provide two active channels. Each repeater included a base station controlled cross over data switch to swap traffic through a choice of two fibre pairs, the switch connections in successive repeaters enabled any desired connection to be made and provide a diversity path when required.