TAT-8: The First Transatlantic Optical System

TAT-8, the first transatlantic optical fiber system, was installed in the summer and fall of 1988 and went into service in December of that year. The design life of the system is 25 years, with an objective of no more than three ship repairs caused by spontaneous sudden or gradual changes in its component parts. The experience with TAT-8 during its first year in operation (and, for somewhat shorter times, with systems of the same design installed in the Pacific) is reported. Based on that experience, projections of likely future performance are made. Some of the failure modes that were of concern during the development, the measures taken to exclude them, and the degree to which these currently appear to have been successful, are discussed.