SMART Cables Activity

From Lisbon to Nice, from the Azores to the Faroe Islands… the SMART Cables initiative has been busy!

Over 380 volunteer members are quietly but powerfully spreading the message of SMART Cables around the world, that our subsea telecommunications infrastructure can serve double duty, not only with connectivity but also for ocean and earth monitoring, science, society and the planet.

In just the past few weeks, members of the ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC Joint Task Force have carried this message to:
·     Iberian Connection Workshop in Madrid – establishing regional collaboration
· SubOptic 2025 – engaging the subsea telecom industry in Lisbon
·     ERVO – the European Research Vessel Operators in the Faroe Islands
·     The Atlantic Centre in the Azores – discussing Climate Change and Security Challenges
·     The One Ocean Science Congress and UNOC in Nice – highlighting SMART within the UN Ocean Decade

What’s clear: hashtag#momentum is growing. Governments are actively exploring how to integrate SMART capabilities into new regional and national cable projects. The industry is increasingly open to dialogue. A major supplier is now enabling SMART technology, and end users—across operational centers, academia, and research—are eager to harness this new stream of environmental data. Together, they are uniting connectivity, science, and resilience.

Behind every session, every slide, and every conversation is a global network of passionate individuals, volunteering their time, expertise, and energy across disciplines and continents. Their shared mission: to unlock a future where digital infrastructure also delivers climate resilience, early warnings, and deeper ocean and earth knowledge.