FiberSense and SX test subsea cable monitoring solution
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FiberSense and SX test subsea cable monitoring solution

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FiberSense, a deep-tech fibre sensing company, and Southern Cross Cable Network (SX) have completed the successful testing of the world’s first subsea cable monitoring service.

The FiberSense DigitalAsset Marine system can co-exist on a live traffic carrying fibre and according to the company, is the first of its kind to proactively defend critical subsea assets. With increased range, the FiberSense DigitalAsset Marine service can cover the shore-end network, from the cable landing station to the first repeater.

For SX, this enhanced real-time monitoring will add improved protection, deterrence, and new maintenance advantages without the need to reserve dark fibres. Following this collaboration, the solution has been rigorously field tested from FiberSense's New Zealand cable station and is available for commercial release.

“For SX, implementing the FiberSense marine innovations across our marine plant shore ends, we can now see and mitigate a range of threats that were virtually impossible to detect before," said Dean Veverka, director of networks and VP of operations at SX.

"These threats include cable strumming, cable un-earthing, anchor drag, fishing net drag, shunt fault location and subsidence. I predict that this will become the de facto standard for all marine cables over the next decade.”

FiberSense can identify and pinpoint these threats across the cable fronthaul section, continuously along the cable and in real-time. As a result, this enable a number of response mechanisms from Automatic Identification System (AIS) messaging from to coast guard intervention, and ship to shore radio.

In addition, the FiberSense DigitalAsset Marine system detects, locates and identifies a vessel with an alarm that sounds in real-time if any anchoring event or other aggression event is detected and several mitigation strategies are employed in order to avoid a break.

Additionally, FiberSense has developed capabilities to detect when a section of cable is uncovered on the ocean floor or is suspended above the ocean floor and is strumming, in real-time by location to meter accuracy.

“Dean Veverka and the SX team have a rich history in being at the vanguard of supporting new technologies into the submarine space. We are delighted to be partnering with SX in launching DigitalAsset Marine today," said Mark Englund, founder and CEO of FiberSense.

DigitalAsset Marine is a big deal for subsea cable resilience and maintenance. Being able to see for the first time these types of events in real time by location along the cable allows the cable operator to action mitigation strategies exactly where the risk is detected."

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