In our "wireless" world it is easy to take the importance of the undersea cable systems for granted, but the stakes of their successful operation are huge, as they are responsible for carrying almost all transoceanic Internet traffic. In The Undersea Network Nicole Starosielski follows these cables from the ocean depths to their landing zones on the sandy beaches of the South Pacific, bringing them to the surface of media scholarship and making visible the materiality of the wired network. In doing so, she charts the cable network's cultural, historical, geographic and environmental dimensions. Starosielski argues that the environments the cables occupy are historical and political realms, where the network and the connections it enables are made possible by the deliberate negotiation and manipulation of technology, culture, politics and geography. Accompanying the book is an interactive digital mapping project, where readers can trace cable routes, view photographs and archival materials, and read stories about the island cable hubs.

DescriptionThis book provides a detailed overview of the evolution of undersea communications systems, with emphasis on the most recent breakthroughs of optical submarine cable technologies based upon Wavelength Division Multiplexing, optical amplification, new-generation optical fibers, and high-speed digital electronics. The role played by submarine-communication systems in the development of high-speed networks and associated market demands for multiplying Internet and broadband services is also covered.Importance of This TopicThis book will fill the gap between highly specialized papers from large international conferences and broad-audience technology review updates. The book provides a full overview of the evolution in the field and conveys the dimension of the large undersea projects. In addition, the book uncovers the myths surrounding marine operations and installations in that domain, which have remained known so far to only very few specialists.

There are many things and services in our everyday life that we take for granted, and telecommunications is one of them. We surf the internet, send emails to friends and colleagues abroad, talk to family members in foreign countries over the phone, book airline seats and make banking transactions without actually realizing and appreciating the sophisticated technology that enables us to do so. This report covers the history and nature of cables, their special status in international law, their interaction with the environment and other ocean users and, finally, the challenges of the future. It is an evidence-based synopsis that aims to improve the quality and availability of information to enhance understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders. UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with the International Cable Protection Committee and UNEP has prepared this new report to provide an objective, factual description of the sub-marine cable industry and the interaction of submarine telecommunications (which route 95% of all international communications traffic) with the marine environment. This important report seeks to focus and guide deliberations and decision making on the wise conservation and protection of the oceans in concert with their sustainable management and use.

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSN) are envisioned as an aquatic medium for a variety of applications including oceanographic data collection, disaster management or prevention, assisted navigation, attack protection, and pollution monitoring. Similar to terrestrial wireless sensor networks (WSN), UWSNs consist of sensor nodes that collect the information and pass it to a base station; however, researchers have to face many challenges in executing the network in an aquatic medium. Energy-Efficient Underwater Wireless Communications and Networking is a crucial reference source that covers existing and future possibilities of the area as well as the current challenges presented in the implementation of underwater sensor networks. While highlighting topics such as digital signal processing, underwater localization, and acoustic channel modeling, this publication is ideally designed for machine learning experts, IT specialists, government agencies, oceanic engineers, communication experts, researchers, academicians, students, and environmental agencies concerned with optimized data flow in communication network, securing assets, and mitigating security attacks.

An existence proof regarding undersea cables’ vulnerability to physical breaks is the fact that they are generally cut between 150 and 200 times annually. Nicole Starosielski has summed up the situation concisely, noting that the global undersea network is “precarious rather than resilient.” As one recent study commented about the open discourse on securing undersea cables at a major meeting of NATO defense ministers in October 2020, “despite the proliferation of public statements underlining the importance of protecting them, collective action to enhance their security has so far been lacking."

This book highlights the critical importance of laying, quick relinking, and protecting submarine cables with timely approval for carriers and cable repairing ships and how these are most challenging in many jurisdictions. It identifies that a dedicated national instrument on submarine cable as a way forward is yet to be appreciated by many States, and presently, there is no model legal framework for national instruments on submarine cables available. To bridge these gaps, the book undertakes a systematic inquiry and analysis of submarine cable regimes' and relevant authorities. It consults existing knowledge on international law on cables and analyzes specific principles and provisions on laying repair and maintenance of submarine cables and states’ obligations towards protecting cables from vulnerabilities. It touches upon cable regulation in the deep sea concerning the International Seabed Authority and proposed biodiversity agreement. It indicates suitable measures on cable laying, etc., and security risks in the marine space beyond the national jurisdictions. To map States’ response, it explores the domestic cable regimes, including both the selected jurisdictions and Australia and New Zealand, analyses specific legal provisions and institutional set-up, and demonstrates state practices, approaches, and loopholes in the governance of the cable system within national jurisdictions. The book suggests adopting the spatial ocean management approach, dedicated regulatory authority, a competent enforcement agency, strict liability with exemplary punishment on cable damage, and the cable system to strengthen the cable system's management. Finally, it arranges the fundamental premises of a common minimum framework for national instruments seeking coastal states’ deliberations in implementing initiatives towards a robust law and policy for reliability, resiliency, and security of the cable system. The cable industries, pipeline, fishing, shipping industries, academicians, government authorities, international bodies, and the maritime community worldwide are looking at the issues and challenges of submarine cable regimes, particularly national regimes and suggestive remedial measures. These stakeholders will find the book a useful reference.

In Media Hot and Cold Nicole Starosielski examines the cultural dimensions of temperature to theorize the ways heat and cold can be used as a means of communication, subjugation, and control. Diving into the history of thermal media, from infrared cameras to thermostats to torture sweatboxes, Starosielski explores the many meanings and messages of temperature. During the twentieth century, heat and cold were broadcast through mass thermal media. Today, digital thermal media such as bodily air conditioners offer personalized forms of thermal communication and comfort. Although these new media promise to help mitigate the uneven effects of climate change, Starosielski shows how they can operate as a form of biopower by determining who has the ability to control their own thermal environment. In this way, thermal media can enact thermal violence in ways that reinforce racialized, colonial, gendered, and sexualized hierarchies. By outlining how the control of temperature reveals power relations, Starosielski offers a framework to better understand the dramatic transformations of hot and cold media in the twenty-first century.