oth noncarrier investors and providers, and one of the carriers is generally given a management contract to operate the cable system on behalf of all the members. This enables streamlined operations because decisions can be made on upgrades and operations without requiring unanimous con- sent from the entire group on every decision. Carrier Networks Hillsboro Toyohashi Los Angeles Pacific Ocean Landing points: Landing points are the locations where Emi, Japan Hillsboro, Oregon undersea cabling systems connect with landline networks. Toyohashi, Japan Los Angeles, California Piti, Guam Figure 4-1 The Tata TGN-Pacific undersea cable, which was completed in Decem- ber 2002, connects the United States with Japan. It is configured in a self-healing ring. (Courtesy TeleGeography) Technological Advancements Improvements in optical electronics have enabled undersea cable speeds to increase from 2.5Gbps to 10Gbps. Although 100Gbps electronics are available, the prices are currently too high to be economically practical. Interestingly, because of technological improvements, the newest of three cabling systems connecting Europe and the Middle East, SeaMeWe-4, installed in 2005 but upgraded many times since, now has 80 per- cent of the total capacity of all three undersea cables. (New cabling systems are in the process of being constructed on this route.) Strategies to Increase Capacity on Existing Undersea Routes Upgrading the electronics connected to optical cabling can increase capacity. In addi- tion, unused fibers within existing "dark" fiber bundles can be "lit." Dark fiber refers to fiber cabling pairs on which no electronics have been connected. Lit fiber is fiber to Technologies Used in Carrier Networks which electronics are connected. When carriers lay fiber, they always add more fiber to cable bundles than is needed at the time the cables are deployed. This is because fiber is relatively inexpensive, but the costs for labor and for remotely operated underwater equipment to dig trenches and lay the actual cable are 