Hello Jesse,
Undersea capacity is expensive for 3 reasons:
1) It's under the ocean
2) It's under the ocean
3) It's under the ocean
Actually, based on first hand experience, the cost of installing a oceanic
cable is _not_ the driving factor that makes oceanic bandwidth so
expensive. The key factors involve the relationship between the partners of
any one of the cable consortiums. Each of the partners are telcos. Telcos
who compete with each other in the region do not have each other's interest
at heart. Hence, when they set the prices for the cable capacity, the
prices get jacked up.
When ever one telco mis-forecasts and runs out of capacity on a cable, the
other "partners" jack up their prices even further and sell it to the
unfortunate "partner" who ran out of capacity. These pricing games between
the telcos over oceanic bandwidth is one of the key factors for the high
cost end customers experience.
The problem with all of this is there is little information available that
explains how oceanic bandwidth politics. This is why we've got a couple of
blocked out sessions during APRICOT that covers oceanic and space segment
(satellite) technology and politics.
IMHO - Education is the best weapon to lowering the cost of oceanic
bandwidth.
Barry