Recent and Future Developments in Jointing Technology in the Undersea
Telecommunications Industry
The introduction of the Universal Joint (UJ) made a
huge impact on the undersea telecommunications industry when it was first introduced
over a decade ago. As the demand for undersea cables continues to grow and
cable maintenance becomes ever more complex, the role of the Universal Jointing
Consortium (UJC) has never been more crucial to the industry.
The History of the Universal Joint
The philosophy of Universal Jointing for fibre optic
cables was conceived in the late 1980’s. In November 1990, the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company, BT (Marine) Ltd., and Les Cables de Lyon,
formed a consortium in contemplation of jointly entering into an agreement with
the TAT9 fibre optic cable system purchasers to supply a Universal Joint and
Universal Coupling (UJ/UC), for installation and maintenance. This new jointing
approach (and technology) was aimed at allowing cable owners to avoid the need
and expense of having to use a variety of manufacturer-specific cable jointing
equipment.
The Universal Joint (UJ) is allowing manufacturers and
cable owners alike, the freedom to install and purchase various underwater
telecommunications cable types from different suppliers for the construction
and maintenance of their networks. The standard UJ joint offers cable-specific components designed to fit
together with a set of common piece parts using common tools for assembly.
The Universal Joint / Universal Coupling (UJ/UC)
Consortium—which originally introduced the UJ/UC technology platform—has now
grown into the Universal Jointing Consortium (UJC) with four members consisting
of Alcatel Submarine Networks in France, Global Marine Systems Ltd. in the UK,
Kokusai Cable Ship Co., Ltd. in Japan, and Tyco Telecommunications (US) Inc. in
the USA. In addition to UJ/UC products, the UJC supports and maintains the
Universal Quick Joint (UQJ) product platform. Consortium members each have
specific responsibilities and work together to provide UJ, UC, and UQJ
technology to worldwide cable operators, cable manufacturers, and maintenance
contractors. It is testament to the effectiveness of the Consortium that these
jointing technologies and standards have been adopted by the majority of
optical undersea telecommunication cable maintenance authorities worldwide.
Generally, the UJ (provides a connection between
cables) and UC (provides a connection between a cable and an optical housing,
such as repeaters, branching units, etc.) are used in long-haul networks which
are typically over 400 kilometres in length such as across Atlantic or Pacific
routes. Networks of this length require the installation of repeaters or
amplifiers at regular intervals along the cable to boost the optical signal as
it travels down the fibre. In contrast, the UQJ was developed to meet the needs
of the unpowered, non-repeatered, short-haul cable
market.
The development of the UJ/UC/UQJ technologies and
introduction into the undersea market has positioned the UJC firmly at the
forefront of undersea technological innovation. This position gives the
Consortium a vantage point from which to gain insight into cable qualification needs
and to raise industry standards. As part of its mission, the Consortium has
initiated a program of enhancements designed to address changes within the
industry.
New joint designs as well as improvements to existing
joint designs are created to be compatible with the UJC baseline designs and
jointing equipment. This ensures that advancements in the Consortium’s product
lines do not force existing systems and kits to become obsolete.
In its drive to improve productivity and efficiency,
the Consortium promotes enhancements to the technology. These include
satisfying the needs of a number of manufacturers producing cables with loose
tube structures and high fibre counts. For these reasons a new fibre storage
system has been engineered to allow for fibre movement and an increased fibre
handling capacity from 60 to 96 fibres.
The Consortium is also championing value engineering
of its jointing technologies. Through continual improvement of its products the
Consortium has reduced complexity and manufacturing costs. This strategy is
allied to industry drives aimed at (a) reducing time for cable jointing
processes, (b) promoting shorter supply cycles, (c) reducing costs, and (d)
shortening the time required for cable qualification.
To gain qualification status with the UJC, a cable to
cable joint or cable to repeater coupling must pass stringent and thorough
tests to determine the success of its jointing and handling characteristics.
Research and development in the area of undersea cable compatibility has given
the Consortium a unique insight into cable behavior.
As well as collating pre-qualification and actual qualification information,
the results of specific tests are stored and collated in a substantial database
containing several hundred test reports. This, in turn, greatly helps to
accurately identify the degree of compatibility between different cable types.
The Consortium places great emphasis and importance on
Qualification Test Specifications (QTSs) based on the simulation of a number of
different marine environments and installation & recovery conditions. QTSs
are regularly reviewed and agreed with the Consortium Members and are thus
considered an international reference. The modular qualification approach means
that it is not always necessary to complete the full battery of qualification
tests for a new cable combination—thus reducing qualification costs and time to
market for a new product.
By directly
addressing issues such as fiber movement, joint
capacity, and value engineering, the Consortium is setting a global course for
the industry. The Consortium has taken the lead in addressing these needs by
pursuing enhancements of the jointing system while increasing value and
tackling underlying cost issues. Part of this overall enhancement strategy
includes closer liaison with cable manufacturers and system purchasers. This
cooperation is an integral part in determining the minimum scope of testing
thus increasing the value of the jointing products and decreasing the expenses
to the customer.
Developments
in jointing continue in an effort to constantly and consistently improve the
benefits to telecommunications customers. These include further initiatives to
reduce the cost to the user—both in real terms through reduced component and
equipment cost—and by implementing new technology to reduce on-board jointing
times.
The Consortium
welcomes any comments or ideas that can help to improve UJ/UC/UQJ products and
services. In addition, if you experience difficulties with any of the Universal
Jointing products, we would be grateful if you could inform the Consortium
Co-ordinator or any of the UJC members so that these can be resolved.
Presentations
If your organisation would like further information or
be given a presentation on the benefits of the UJ Consortium please use the
feedback form on this website to contact us, giving details of your request.
© UJ Consortium – December 8, 2009