Submarine fibre-optic cables are laid by specialist ships that follow a route surveyed in advance, paying cable out under controlled tension as they travel. Depending on seabed conditions and the risk of damage, crews may bury the cable with a towed plough or subsea robot, or use other protection. The cable is brought ashore, connected to a station and tested.
How the installation works
The process is planned around a particular route, cable design and seabed. A cable may rest on the seabed in one stretch and be buried or otherwise protected in another; there is no single method suitable for every section.
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1. Survey and plan the route
Engineers assess water depth, seabed shape and material, existing cables and pipelines, and hazards such as seismic activity. They also consider fishing, shipping, currents, regulations and environmental or practical constraints. Surveys may use multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profiling, seabed photography and geotechnical tests. The findings inform both the route and where burial or other protection may be appropriate. ITU-T G.971 (2024); ICPC–UNEP
2. Load and prepare the cable
The assembled cable system is loaded aboard a cable ship. Procedures and tests help check that loading has not affected the system before deployment begins. ITU-T G.971 (2024)
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3. Pay cable out from the ship
The ship follows the planned track while operators monitor its position and speed, water depth, cable payout and tension. They adjust the payout as depth and seabed contours change so the cable reaches its intended position. A controlled amount of slack is needed for it to settle properly; the ITU recommendation explains that “a predetermined cable overlength (slack) is laid, to ensure that the cable is properly laid on the sea bottom.” ITU-T G.971, Annex A.3.2 (2024)
In steady operation, an ICPC–UNEP report gives about 11–15 km/h (6–8 knots) as a practical maximum cable-laying speed. That is contextual guidance, not a universal ship speed or a promise of how quickly a particular project will proceed. ICPC–UNEP (2025)
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4. Bury or protect selected sections
Where protection is needed and the seabed permits it, a towed sea plough can cut a furrow and guide the cable into it as the ship lays the cable. A subsea robot or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) may be used after laying for burial, inspection or other work. Burial is not possible or appropriate everywhere: rocky ground and other local conditions can rule it out. Designers may instead choose suitable cable protection, covers or conduits for particular conditions. ITU-T G.971 (2024); ICPC–UNEP (2025); ICPC recommendations
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5. Bring the cable ashore and test it
The cable is brought ashore and connected to a cable or terminal station. The system is tested during installation and at the end of laying to check for significant degradation; the land cable and terminal equipment are tested as well. A post-lay inspection may confirm that the cable lies correctly on or in the seabed. ITU-T G.971 (2024)
Why some cable is buried and some is not
Burial is a protection choice, not a step applied uniformly along every route. The decision depends on whether the seabed allows burial, the exposure to fishing, anchors or other seabed activity, and the equipment available. Where burial is appropriate, a plough may place cable in a furrow during laying; a robot or ROV can support post-lay burial or inspection. Elsewhere, another suitable protective measure may be chosen. ITU-T G.971 (2024); ICPC–UNEP (2025); ICPC recommendations
These methods describe optical-fibre telecommunications cables, not a universal procedure for every kind of submarine cable. Installation choices vary with the route, water depth, seabed, equipment and local risks; there is no single burial depth or constant ship speed that applies to every project.
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How important are submarine cables?
The International Telecommunication Union says submarine cables carry approximately 99% of the world’s Internet traffic; its overview does not attach a measurement year to that estimate. In a 2024 estimate, the ITU counted more than 500 active and planned telecommunications cable systems and nearly 200,000 km of new submarine cables installed. The ITU’s 2026 backgrounder also reports more than 170 cable repairs worldwide in 2025, citing the International Cable Protection Committee. These are attributed, dated figures—not a single measurement of every cable or installation project. ITU backgrounder (2026)
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