Accelerating traffic demand along with double digit annual price decline has substantially changed the financial environment for submarine cable systems. This challenging environment requires business practice changes in all phases of a submarine cable systems life, from design to construction to operation to upgrade.

An analysis and model of submarine cable cash flow suggests that, with proper risk management strategies, the potential for profitable worldwide investment in new and upgrade projects is larger than has been generally expected, even in relatively mature markets. We have developed a new modeling tool for the industry called FinNES^SM

(Financial Network Evaluation System) to address key challenges, such as:

· Projecting operating cash flows;

· Developing risk mitigation plans, since delays or interruptions in cash flows can never be recovered;

· Evaluating technology selection for upgrades and the impact on cash flow outlook;

· Reviewing system design proposals to understand which selections maximize system economic life and value;

· Determine appropriate acquisition strategies of existing systems.

Our findings were presented at the PTC-2010 (http://www.ptc.org/ptc10/) January, 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Download our presentation Managing Cable Lifecycle.