海底ケーブルの地政学的考察――電信の大英帝国からインターネットの米国へ――

抄録

A major factor accelerating globalization is the development of various networks. Maritime and aviation networks increase the transnational movement of people and things. At the same time, telecommunication networks send messages instantaneously to the other end of the globe and enable people to share information without travelling. Historically, powerful states in international politics developed and exploited global telecommunications networks. The British Empire had extensive telegraph networks in the 19th century; in 1892 it owned 66.3% of telegraph networks in the world. The United States has had an even larger influence over the Internet since the 1990s. The U.S. presence today in Internet traffic, technologies and services is bigger than any other country. Submarine cables, whether historically in telegraph networks or in today’s internet networks, are an essential infrastructure for connecting nodes across network. The first submarine cable was laid in 1850 at the bottom of the Straits of Dover. Today there are numerous undersea cables in every sea. However, while there was a shift from the copper cables of the telegraph network to the fiber-optics of today, it is not clear why and how Britain lost its dominance to the U.S. in the area of submarine cables. This paper analyzes historical documents and data to answer these questions. It argues three points. First, between the end of the old copper cables and the new fiber-optic cables satellite’s caused technological disruption in the Cold War era. Satellites enable wider coverage over vast areas and have more capacity to send messages than copper submarine cables. The U.S.-led Intelsat made it easier to communicate overseas by satellites; Britain could not catch up with the U.S. and Soviet Union in satellite development. Second, the increase of communication demands needed a technological innovation and made both copper cables and satellites obsolete. Optical fiber was a disruptive technology and replaced old telecommunication systems. Finally, the rise of sovereignty claims over communications channels by developing countries after World War II weakened state control over new telecommunication systems. Telecommunication providers were privatized and laid private cables instead of common carrier (or consortium) cables, which were easier for governments to control. Therefore, the foundations of U.S. control over the Internet is not based on legal arrangements, but on technological advantages and the geopolitical layout of submarine cables. The vast Atlantic and Pacific Oceans could be disadvantageous for the U.S. But it led innovations of satellites and optic submarine cables and put them in place earlier than other competitors. Britain failed to take advantage of its earlier expertise and it made the U.S. a key hub in the new information age.