The construction of the TPC-5CN began in November 1993. The southern route connecting Ninomiya (Kanagawa Prefecture), Miyazaki, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. mainland (California) was put into service in December 1995. The southern route, providing large-capacity, high-quality transmission channels, has been used, among other applications, for transmitting high-definition television broadcasts of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The northern and southern routes between Ninomiya and U.S. mainland (Oregon and California) have been connected in Japan and the United States to form the first loop-shaped optical-fiber submarine cable system in the Pacific region.

The cable system, constructed at the total cost of 134,700 yen million and providing 10 Gbps line capacity (equivalent to approximately 120,000 telephone circuits), employs a "self-healing function" (Note 1) and "optical amplification" (Note 2) developed by KDD to realize an extremely high degree of reliability compared to conventional submarine cables.1
The cable system will be connected to the TAT-12/13 (No. 12/13 Trans-Atlantic Cable Network) and with the APCN that spans across Southeast Asia and the SEA-ME-WE3 cable and the FLAG cable that connect Europe with Asia to create a large-capacity network linking countries around the world.

Because the cable system suits the needs of the multimedia age by offering large capacity with its optical-fiber cables, 70% of its line capacity has already been reserved. The system is expected to be used for the Internet, by multinational companies who will send massive data for international commercial transactions, and for television transmission services via cable.

(Note 1) Self-healing function
This function enables instantaneous backup in the loop-shaped network. In the TPC-5CN, for example, the signals to be sent over the southern route are simultaneously ready to be sent over the northern route, and if the southern route fails , the signals are instantly switched to the northern route to prevent communication interruption.

(Note 2) Optical amplification
The longer the cable transmission distance, the greater the optical signal attenuation. Optical amplification resolves this problem by amplifying optical signals without running them through an electric circuit. This enables the transmission of a large volume of signals while ensuring high reliability and economy at the same time.

Profile of TPC-5CN
(TransPacific Cable No. 5 Cable Network)

1.	Service to begin:	December 31, 1996
2.	Line capacity:	10 Gbps (equivalent to 120,960 telephone lines)
3.	Total length:	Approximately 25,000 km
4.	Total construction cost:	Total construction cost:
5.	KDD's investment:	19,500 million yen (14.5% of total construction cost)
6.	No. of lines to be acquired by KDD:	No. of lines to be acquired by KDD:

<1> Profile of the northern route

<2> Southern route