Considerations in the use of optical waveguides in submarine cable systems

The cost of providing power to remote repeaters for a submarine cable system is investigated. Consideration is given to the self-contained radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) unit and a copper cable feed from a shore power station. The copper can presumably be made an integral part of the glass fiber cable. It was found that copper feed is more economical than the RTG unit and the regions and definitions of more economical power feed are discussed and displayed in graphical form. An example compares the expected cost of an optical waveguide system with a system using SD submarine coaxial cable.