Photograph) Installation of KT Submarine’s submarine optical cable lines going global 


■ Entered into contract to supply submarine optical cables to LIG Nex1
■ Will strengthen submarine optical cable business using underwater construction capabilities of KTS


LS Cable & System and KT Submarine will jointly participate in a submarine cable project for national defense. 

LS Cable & System and KT Submarine (KTS, CEO: Seung-yong Lee) announced on the 12th that they will supply submarine optical cables to LIG Nex1. LS Cable & System will handle the submarine cable development and production, while KTS will install the cables. 

Submarine cables for national defense are used in power supplies for detection sensors and signal delivery. Through a project led by the Agency for Defense Development, LS Cable & System succeeded in developing such cables in 2018 after around two years of research.  

For submarine optical cables, which are installed in deep water, the capacity to withstand extreme conditions, such as the high water pressure, is important. The product of LS Cable & System can be manufactured at a length extending over tens of kilometers without joints, and the tensile strength is as high as 60 tons. 

Having recently acquired shares of KTS, an underwater construction specialist, LS Cable & System is implementing a strategy to actively expand the market for optical cables in addition to its existing submarine power cables. Submarine optical cables have a wide range of applications, including not only data transmission between continents but also underwater seismograph installation and sensor connection for ecosystem surveys.

“We are developing a premium-level optical cable that works underwater at a depth of more than 2 km, such as in the Pacific Ocean,” said an LS Cable & System official. “As KTS holds expertise in intercontinental submarine cable installation, we expect to create synergy in the optical cable business.” 

Propelled by the submarine cable business expansion of global big tech companies and LS Cable & System, KTS won contracts amounting to KRW 55 billion in the first half of this year alone. This figure exceeds 130% of the company’s sales last year. KTS anticipates that its operating profit this year will turn to a profit based on its asset efficiency improvement, business expansion, etc.