22 ships
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https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships
Repairing the undersea cables:
The world is in the midst of a cable boom, with multiple new transoceanic lines announced every year. But there is growing concern that the industry responsible for maintaining these cables is running perilously lean. There are 77 cable ships in the world, according to data supplied by SubTel Forum, but most are focused on the more profitable work of laying new systems. Only 22 are designated for repair, and it’s an aging and eclectic fleet. Often, maintenance is their second act. Some, like Alcatel’s Ile de Molene, are converted tugs. Others, like Global Marine’s Wave Sentinel, were once ferries. Global Marine recently told Data Centre Dynamics that it’s trying to extend the life of its ships to 40 years, citing a lack of money. One out of 4 repair ships have already passed that milestone. The design life for bulk carriers and oil tankers, by contrast, is 20 years.
“We’re all happy to spend billions to build new cables, but we’re not really thinking about how we’re going to look after them,” said Mike Constable, the former CEO of Huawei Marine Networks, who gave a presentation on the state of the maintenance fleet at an industry event in Singapore last year. “If you talk to the ship operators, they say it’s not sustainable anymore.”
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Maybe it is cheaper and better for now to lay new cables than to repair old ones. Better, more up-to-date technology.
Similar things likely happen on land with sprinkler systems, co-axial cables, and fiber optic cables. Sprinkler system contractors would rather lay new pipes than to fix old pipes, ditto the technicians from ISPs with regards to co-ax and fiber optic cables.
Old unshielded twisted pair telephone cables are just a lost cause. No legitimate business and no homeowner bothers to rip them out even though the copper in them is worth money. Even if you want to return to using landline telephone for some reason, you'd just buy new wireless DECT phones rather than messing with old phone wires/ports in your house.
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I wonder if we will get to the point of wireless for undersea cables. Maybe have some sort of floating repeater station or some thing like that at certain points in the ocean.
Kind of like houses - at one time, I think it was big to wire for internet, video, sound, etc. Now, it is mainly wireless. No wires needed.
