Visualization of Interfirm Collaboration in the Submarine Cable Ecosystem

Global digital infrastructures are essential to the growth of economies, businesses, and society. While the provision and management of such infrastructures have traditionally been the focus of telecommunication providers and governmental agencies, the criticality of control and ownership has led to the entry of a whole new set of organizations, including hyperscalers, cloud companies, and platform providers. Given the significant resource expenditures, organizations frequently pursue global infrastructure activities in collaboration with other entities. In this exploratory study, we examine the fundamental composition and collaborative nature of the submarine cable ecosystem using a comprehensive dataset of more than 400 cable projects from 1989-2024. Specifically, we want to explore the extent to which emerging technology and platform providers are complementing traditional infrastructure companies. Moreover, given the national importance of submarine cables to data access, use, and ownership, we examine the intercontinental nature of collaboration within the submarine ecosystem. We conclude the study with implications and future research opportunities