KDD Donates Okinawa-Taiwan (OKITAI) Cable to University of Tokyo's Ocean Research Institute

KDD assigned the cable, which it had stopped using last year, to make the best use of the resource. KDD considered a number of recycling options for the OKITAI cable, including academic ones. A request for the donation came from the Ocean Research institute, which proposed to use the cable for maritime research, including the observation of Kuroshio current. KDD chose the research institute as the recipient as it felt that in the hands of the research institute, the OKITAI Cable can contribute to the progress of Japanese academic research and make a large contribution to society.

Since 1990, KDD has donated a number of cables: the TPC-1 (No.1 Trans-Pacific Cable), the TPC-2 (No. 2 Trans-Pacific Cable), JASC (Japan Sea Cable), and Okinawa Cable assigned to the Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo and JKC (Japan-Korea Cable) assigned to the Ocean Research Institute of the university. These cables still play important parts in the university institutes' research programs.

The OKITAI Cable is a coaxial submarine cable with circuit capacity equal to 480 telephone circuits. It spans a distance of 680 km between Gushikami, Okinawa and Toucheng,Taiwan. Since its operation began in 1979, it had served a key role in meeting the surge in international telecommunications demand between Japan and Taiwan. Because of the introduction of such large-capacity, optical submarine cables as the APC Cable and APCN (Asia-Pacific Cable Network), however, the operation of the OKITAI Cable was discontinued on April 30, 1997.

The University of Tokyo's Ocean Research Institute, with the cooperation of the Ocean Research Institute at the University of Taiwan, will measure the volume of Kuroshio current by analyzing potential fluctuations caused when ocean current crosses the cable. The research, as a basic research for future maritime forecast to help navigation, is expected to produce tangible results.

(Reference)

[Profile of Okinawa-Taiwan (OKITAI) Cable]


   Operation began: July 1979
   Operation ended: April 1997
   Total length: 680 km
   Circuit capacity: equivalent to 480 telephone circuits 
   Donated section: Gushikami (Okinawa) - Toucheng (Taiwan)    
   section 


[Submarine cables donated by KDD in the past]
(1) No. 1 Trans-Pacific Cable (TPC-1)
      Operation began: June 1964
      Operation ended: September 1990
      Donated: November 1990
      Total length: 2,800 km
      Circuit capacity: equivalent to 128 telephone circuits 
      Donated section: Ninomiya-Guam section 
      Recipient: Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo


(2) No. 2 Trans-Pacific Cable (TPC-2)
      Operation began: January 1976
      Operation ended: March 1994
      Donated: September 1995 
      Total length: 9,350 km
      Circuit capacity: equivalent to 845 telephone circuits 
      Donated section: Okinawa-Guam section 
      Recipient: Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo


(3) Japan Sea Cable (JASC)
      Operation began: June 1969
      Operation ended: July 1995 
      Donated: June 1996
      Total length: 890 km
      Circuit capacity: equivalent to 120 telephone circuits 
      Donated section: Naoetsu-Nakhodka section 
      Recipient: Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo


(4) Japan-Korea Cable (JKC)
      Operation began: November 1980
      Operation ended: June 1997
      Donated: December 1997
      Total length: 285 km
      Circuit capacity: equivalent of 2,700 telephone circuits 
      Donated section: Hamada-Pusan section 
      Recipient: Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo


(5) Okinawa Cable
      Operation began: December 1984
      Operation ended: June 1997
      Donated: March 1998
      Total length: 1,720 km
      Circuit capacity: equivalent of 1,600 telephone circuits 
      Donated section: Gushikami-Ninomiya section 
      Recipient: Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo