1. \u00a0Similar to fibre optic cables on land, submarine cables are expensive to deploy; hence many developing countries tend to rely on wireless, especially satellite, solutions to provide\u00a0international connectivity. However, wireless services can be expensive for consumers, have speed limitations, and for voice and Internet services in particular, the time delay in reception, due to distance, can result in poor service quality. On the other hand, once submarine cables are deployed, they tend to be more cost-effective and reliable on major routes.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Cables can be\u00a0broken.\u00a0 Fishing trawlers, anchors, earthquakes, turbidity currents among other things, are typical culprits. You may recall that the 2010 earthquake in Haiti had damaged the submarine cable systems to that country. In the aftermath of the disaster, one of the first order of business was to re-establish connectivity, which in the first instance, was achieved via satellite and other wireless solutions.<\/p>\n