Satellites and fiber optics in the Pacific region

Satellite and fiber optics communications technologies for telephonic transmission are quantitatively compared for a range of geographical routes in the Pacific area as a function of time. An analysis of traffic distributions and a listing of the various investments are presented together with calculations for circuit year costs for each network and for each major link. The results show that satellite technology provides significant economic advantages over fiber optics in practically all long-distance links of the Pacific region. Technical innovations in satellite communications are also considered.