In the early 1960s, AT&T’s cable ship CS Long Lines began major undersea cable-laying work, reflecting the growing role of submarine infrastructure in long-distance communications. The ship later became known for laying landmark systems, helping set the operational and engineering base that Tyco would later acquire and expand.
In 1964, CS Long Lines laid TRANSPAC-1 (also called TPC-1), described as the first trans-Pacific telephone cable. This milestone showed that large, purpose-built cable ships and repeaters could support reliable long-distance service across deep ocean routes.
In 1997, Tyco acquired AT&T’s undersea cable unit, including research capability and a fleet of specialized cable ships. This purchase helped form Tyco Telecommunications as a vertically integrated supplier able to design, manufacture, install, and maintain submarine cable systems.
In 1998, Tyco Submarine Systems won a reported US$1.2 billion contract to build the Pacific Crossing-1 (PC-1) cable between the United States and Japan. The project was notable for its self-healing ring design and for being owned by a non-traditional consortium rather than only incumbent carriers.
In late 1998, Tyco Submarine Systems signed a contract to supply undersea fiber-optic cable for MAYA-1, connecting multiple landing points across the United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Projects like MAYA-1 showed Tyco’s role not only in long-haul routes, but also in building regional backbones that strengthened cross-border connectivity.
In 1999, Tyco Submarine Systems announced it was selected as the sole supplier for the Hibernia transatlantic cable project. The deal highlighted the late-1990s demand surge for bandwidth and the increasing use of dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM), which sends multiple light signals over a single fiber pair.
In 2001, the transatlantic system later known as TGN Atlantic (TGN-A) entered service and was operated by Tyco International before later ownership changes. The system is an example of Tyco’s early-2000s position as both a builder and operator in the competitive transoceanic cable market.
In 2003, Tyco was reported among the companies bidding to build SEA-ME-WE 4, a major consortium cable linking Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. This reflected how large consortium systems were still central to international connectivity, even as private and carrier’s-carrier projects expanded.
In 2007, SEACOM and Tyco Telecommunications announced construction had begun on the SEA Cable System (SEACOM), linking parts of southern and eastern Africa with routes toward India and Egypt. The project was part of a broader shift toward adding high-capacity fiber routes to regions that had been relatively under-served by international bandwidth.
The MAREA transatlantic cable linking Virginia Beach (USA) and Bilbao (Spain) was installed from 2016–2017 and entered service in 2018, with SubCom as operator/installer. It illustrates the modern “hyperscaler” era, where major cloud and internet companies invest directly in high-capacity cables to improve performance and resilience.
In November 2018, Cerberus Capital Management completed its acquisition of TE Connectivity’s subsea communications business, and the company was rebranded as SubCom, LLC. The change marked a new ownership phase while keeping the same core focus: end-to-end submarine network design, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance.
The Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) entered service in 2022, connecting the United States to landing points in Taiwan and the Philippines after the originally planned Hong Kong connection did not proceed. Built by TE SubCom, PLCN shows how geopolitics and licensing can reshape undersea cable routes, even after physical construction is largely complete.
Tyco/SubCom submarine cable projects and milestones (1960s–present)