By SubOptic Press Release

The SubOptic Executive Committee is pleased to announce the formation of its first Interim Activities Working Group, specifically to develop a framework based on best practice for a Standard Submarine Cable Construction Contract and an associated Guide. These documents are being developed to provide insight into a critical but often misjudged and misunderstood part of all that makes up a submarine cable project.

We expect that a draft of these two documents will be made available to the wider industry, for review on our website, in the latter part of this year.

SubOptic is composed of members from all parts of the industry, including suppliers, operators, marine experts and bandwidth users and the organisations and the individuals contributing to this working group are listed on our website, www.suboptic.org This is the first of a series of working groups that will be formed over time, to ensure that SubOptic serves the industry in an enduring and supportive manner while at the same time fostering debate in between the three year conference /convention cycle.

The submarine cable world is growing once again, and we are approaching another high in terms of projects and laid route kilometres. More importantly than this though, SubOptic recognises and is reacting to the fact that this growth is being driven to a significant extent by activity in new regions and markets, and in new market segments – Essentially bringing new users & investors into the fold.

This Construction Contract Framework is not intended to be used as the de-facto finished agreement – however, it will provide a sound introduction to the structure and the purpose of the Contract for the novice, and it will form a baseline for discussions and negotiations helping to deliver clarity and speed to this critical project phase. The Construction Contract Guide will provide the reader with the perspective of both the supplier and the buyer, and understand what collateral activities and dependencies have to be taken into account to ensure success. Taken together SubOptic hopes that this work will contribute to the continuing improvement of cable system implementation, so enhancing the reputation and bankability of this key industry in today's Web 2.0 World.

Fiona Beck, President and CEO of Southern Cross Cable Network and President of the SubOptic EC said, “This working group will provide critical and useful support for the industry as in moves through this new growth phase. I am delighted with the strong industry representation and commitment we have received for this exciting development for SubOptic The promotion of the working group concept will also provide a mechanism for new topics , debates and progress to be made by the industry in a more enduring manner.”.

Further details about our next conference/convention, SubOptic 2010, will be issued on our website, www.suboptic.org to which you can subscribe to receive eAlerts. The website also contains the conference proceedings from our previous two events.

About SubOptic

SubOptic 2010 is the seventh in the series of conferences, the first being held in 1986. SubOptic is a non-profit, non-incorporated international organization, steered and sponsored by leading members of the telecommunications industry. Its activities are open to every level of the industry, from those who manufacture cables and their components to purchasers of cable networks and system capacity to business analysts and investors.