Abstract :
There is currently much debate as to which is the better technology for long distance communications, satellites or fibre-optic cable? This paper tackles the comparison between the two media for an application which, most would agree, is ideally suited to a fibre-optic cable: the long-haul, trans-oceanic link. The key difference between this and previous comparative studies is that, in this case, the satellite system is designed specifically for the application in mind, in the same way as the cable system also is purpose designed
