The 2026 ICPC Plenary in Athens brings together governmental administrations and commercial companies that own or operate submarine telecommunications or power cables, as well as other stakeholders in the submarine cable industry. This year’s theme, “Collaboration to Protect Global Connectivity,” reflects the growing importance of partnership among customers, suppliers, and governments—especially since the turn of the century.

Before 2000, most submarine cable systems were owned and controlled by state telecommunications operators. Today, subsea cables are now increasingly owned, funded, or driven by global data carriers, content providers, and hyperscale platforms. The volume and importance of the data they carry, from video streaming and financial markets to cloud services and AI, continue to expand.

As a result, governments, and the wider international community, including the United Nations, now recognise these subsea digital highways as critical infrastructure. This recognition should mean they are treated as protected assets, not just in theory, but in practice. Protection goes beyond physical security. It requires improved streamlined regulation, safeguarded routes, etc

Collaboration today extends far beyond customers, suppliers, and governments. It now includes marine regulators, environmental authorities, fisheries, offshore energy developers, ports, defence and security bodies, and other sea users. The seabed is becoming more crowded, with cable routes needing to be planned and managed alongside offshore wind farms, interconnectors, marine protected areas, fishing activity, dredging, and military considerations. Collaboration is about managing constraints, reducing conflict, and preserving viable route options, not just raising awareness.

The geopolitical context has also shifted. Governments now view subsea cables as essential to economic security, national resilience, and strategic competition, not just as telecom assets. At the same time, collaboration must support environmental considerations. Modern cable development and maintenance require constructive dialogue to strengthen resilience, educate on environmental impacts, and improve coexistence with other marine activities. This helps regulators make more informed and proportionate decisions.

In response, customers, and companies like ASN have worked through industry forums, including ICPC, ESCA, and NASCA, to raise awareness and engage constructively with governments and stakeholders. The aim is to support collaborative dialogue across the full cable lifecycle, from route planning and permitting to installation, protection, repair, and maintenance.

For ASN, this means our role is not simply to supply and install cable systems. It is also to help customers deliver infrastructure that is technically robust, operationally recoverable, environmentally responsible, and recognised by governments as critical national and international assets.