With one language: Map of fiber optic lines on land planned

If you look at websites such as the Submarine Cable Map, you can quickly see how the continents are connected by submarine cable – and where there are still gaps. The Internet Society would also like to create something similar for terrestrial fiber optic networks, explained its Senior Director Steve Song at a regional Internet conference for the Asia-Pacific region. However, the realization is anything but simple. A data standard should help.

According to Song, the idea arose from efforts to map Africa's fiber optic networks. In the process, it became clear that network operators had previously communicated information with varying degrees of detail and often in different formats. According to a report in "The Register", Song explained that even after years, only 70 percent of Africa's fiber optic infrastructure has been successfully mapped.

Open standard for lines

As a result, the Internet Society, the Mozilla Foundation and the World Bank joined forces to create the Open Fibre Data Standard (OFDS), a standardized data format. Version 0.3 is currently available, but is not yet widely used, as Song explained in a presentation at the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT).

The standard, which is also supported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), could contribute to more targeted, cost-efficient investments being made in digital infrastructure. The lack of data has so far made it difficult for network operators, governments and researchers to assess how resilient the digital infrastructure on land really is, where there is a risk of duplication or where duplication already exists and where action needs to be taken to increase people's digital participation.

Common language sought

While the submarine cables are well documented, there has been a lack of a common language in the land-based infrastructure to date. In many cases, there is even no public information about certain cables. Song does not share the safety concerns resulting from transparency. Ukrainian network operators, for example, have been transparent with their connections – despite the war of aggression waged by Russia for the past three years.

The Internet Society is an international non-profit organization founded in 1992 to promote the development of the Internet. Song recently moved from the Mozilla Foundation to the Society in order to further promote the open data standard.

(mki)