SubTel Forum & the SubOptic Foundation Announcement

Submarine Telecoms Forum Inc. and the SubOptic Foundation announce the creation of the Sustainable Subsea Column in SubTel Forum’s Bi-Monthly Magazine

SubTel Forum Press Release
January 7, 2021

Washington, DC – The SubOptic Foundation and Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc. are pleased to announce the creation of a recurring column focused on sustainability issues related to the global undersea telecommunications network in its bi-monthly magazine, SubTel Forum.

The articles will be authored, curated, and edited by the SubOptic Foundation’s Sustainable Subsea Networks Initiative and its lead researcher, Dr. Nicole Starosielski of NYU. This research initiative, recently awarded a grant from the Internet Society Foundation, is supported by a team of experts from across the industry. Together, they are investigating the sustainability of the global subsea telecommunications network, which transports almost 100% of transoceanic internet traffic between users across the globe. Starting in January 2022, STF will publish forward-looking articles providing insight on the carbon footprint and new sustainability initiatives and concepts within the submarine cable industry.

“Submarine Telecoms Forum is particularly excited to be working with Dr. Nicole Starosielski and the SubOptic Foundation’s Sustainable Subsea Networks Initiative,” said SubTel Forum Publisher, Wayne Nielsen. “We believe our magazine is the perfect forum for discussing such an important issue as submarine cable sustainability, and Nicole is the perfect spokesperson on the topic.”

“The Foundation was established last year to promote and support worthwhile projects such the Sustainability Initiative for the Submarine Cable Industry. Education and awareness are also at the core of our charter. We are truly pleased that SubTel Forum will provide us such a wide audience so that we can share the team’s work with our industry at large”, according to SubOptic Foundation’s president, Erick Contag.

Dr Nicole Starosielski is Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU. Dr. Starosielski’s research focuses on the history of the cable industry and the social aspects of submarine cable construction and maintenance. She is author of The Undersea Network (2015), which examines the cultural and environmental dimensions of transoceanic cable systems, beginning with the telegraph cables that formed the first global communications network and extending to the fiber-optic infrastructure. Starosielski has published over forty essays and is author or editor of five books on media, communications technology, and the environment. She is also co-convener of SubOptic’s Global Citizen Working Group. She received her PhD from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and formerly held a position as Assistant Professor at Miami University of Ohio.

“The creation of this column represents a critical moment in the subsea industry’s environmental history. The industry is coming together to find ways to address one of the most pressing issues of our time,” says Dr. Starosielski.

About Submarine Telecoms Forum

Submarine Telecoms Forum (www.subtelforum.com) is the submarine cable industry’s first electronic, dedicated magazine, daily news feed, and streaming video, and the platform for discourse on submarine telecom cable and network operations. SubTel Forum is free to its 200,000+ users in 115 countries. Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc. (DUNS Number: 07-835-8781) is a publishing, continuing education and media company specializing in topics related to the worldwide submarine cable industry. Its purpose-built subsidiary produced and managed the record shattering, SubOptic 2019, in New Orleans.

Submarine Telecoms Forum magazine (ISSN No. 1948-3031) is published bimonthly by Submarine Telecoms Forum, Inc., and is an independent commercial publication, serving as a freely accessible forum for professionals in industries connected with submarine optical fiber technologies and techniques. Submarine Telecoms Forum may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publishers.