Orange Marine, a subsidiary of the French telecommunications operator responsible for laying and repairing submarine cables, the infrastructure that provides 99% of the world’s digital communications, inaugurated a new cable ship in La Seyne-sur-Sea (Var) on Friday.
Named “Sophie Germain”, in honor of the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher (1776-1831), this 100 meter long ship, dedicated to the repair of cables in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Black Sea, replaces to an aging ship. and joins a fleet made up of 7 ships in total. Its construction required two years of work and a budget of 50 million euros.
In this strategic market, where there are few international players, Orange Marine owns 15% of the world fleet, as well as a similar market share, with an estimated turnover of 150 million euros per year.
More than 287,000 kilometers of submarine cables
By the end of 2022, its ships had installed more than 287,000 kilometers of underwater cables, according to the company, present in 26 countries. At the heart of the global network of submarine cables, the Mediterranean is one of the main Internet junctions, as is Marseille, the seventh global center in this area, which is home to many large French data centers.
The global demand for these cables is driven by the American Internet giants – Google, Facebook, Microsoft – which have become the new builders, particularly due to the explosion of data flows passing between Europe and the United States.
“Although in 2010 Gafam did not own any network infrastructure in the Atlantic, it controlled 50% in 2019 and up to 70% through joint investments, to the detriment of historical operators,” recalled Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, on Friday. on the occasion of the inauguration of the new ship.
Source: BFM TV
