VALENTIA ISLAND SYMPOSIUM ON SUBSEA CABLE SECURITY AND RESILIENCE
Restoration and Repair: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
22-24 APRIL 2026, VALENTIA ISLAND TRANSATLANTIC CABLE STATION, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, Ireland
On 22-24 April 2026, the second multi-stakeholder Symposium on Subsea Cable Security and Resilience will be held at Valentia Island's historic Transatlantic Cable Station. Under the umbrella topic "Restoration and Repair: Past, Present and Future", the 2026 Valentia Island Symposium aims to contribute to ongoing discussions at national, regional and international levels on the repair of subsea telecommunications cables.
A robust and reliable subsea cable repair ecosystem is essential to safeguarding the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure. Recent policy initiatives-including the EU Joint Communication on strengthening submarine cable security and resilience (21 February 2025) and the New York Statement on Undersea Cable Security and Resilience (26 September 2024)-highlight the central role of repair capabilities, including ships, personnel, depots, and enabling policies, in ensuring effective response. Sustaining uninterrupted connectivity is not only vital for national security but also for broader societal resilience. However, both government and industry have flagged significant challenges within the repair ecosystem that demand urgent attention.
Taking a broad historical lens, the Symposium will focus on the evolution of subsea cable repair throughout history, differentiating between repair operations in peacetime, in crisis and during conflict. It will examine repair as a core element of resilience in global connectivity and how this is reflected in current policy and practice. It will discuss some of the key challenges identified by government and industry and pathways for addressing them. Importantly, it will also reflect on current market dynamics and structural shifts in the subsea cable sector. Alongside technological and geopolitical developments, it will examine what these structural shifts mean for the future of repair and the repair ecosystem.We would like to draw your attention to the Call for Presentations (CfP) for the second multi-stakeholder Symposium on Subsea Cable Security and Resilienceat the Valentia Island Transatlantic Cable Station in Co. Kerry, Ireland from 22-24 April 2026.
Under the topic "Restoration and Repair: Past, Present and Future", the 2026 Symposium seeks proposals for presentations that will contribute to ongoing discussions at national, regional and international levels on the repair of subsea telecommunications cables. Taking a broad historical lens, but keenly focused on the present and the future, including current and emerging challenges, the integration of new technologies, evolving security considerations, and the impact of digital transformation on subsea cable repair, we especially invite presentations that focus on:
PAST From Grapnels to ... Grapnels? The Historic Evolution of Subsea Cable Repair
PRESENT 1 Maintaining the Backbone: Restoration and Repair as a Critical Element of Resilience during Peacetime, Crisis and Conflict
PRESENT 2 Similarities and Differences: Cross-sectoral Perspectives on Repair of Undersea and Offshore Infrastructure
FUTURE Shifting Tides: Whither the Future of Repair?
The 2026 Valentia Island Subsea Cable Symposium is the second such event to bring together stakeholders from across public and private sectors to discuss the topic of subsea cable security and resilience, this time with a specific focus on restoration and repair and the repair eco-system. It is hosted by the Valentia Island Foundation and organised by a loose consortium of Irish and international research institutes and industry actors. Its strong emphasis on the past as well as the present and the future is a recognition of the rich, yet complicated history of these transmission technologies and the geographies involved, as well as an acknowledgement of the need to ensure greater understanding of what security and resilience means for the different actors and communities involved in the repair eco-system.
This year, we also invite submissions from third-level post-graduate students and will have a dedicated category and prize for student submissions.
Required: Submission of a written abstract of your proposed presentation (maximum 250 words). A review committee will evaluate all abstract submissions and make a final determination based on content, relevance and quality.
Abstract due date: 15 December 2025
Notification of acceptance: 30 January 2026
Confirmation of attendance: 15 February 2026. Sponsorship for travel and accommodation may be available upon request.
- Final presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes, allowing time for Q&A. Further guidance on format and timing of presentations will be provided once abstracts have been selected.
- Presenters will submit the final version of their presentation by 31 March at the latest and should include the speaker's name and affiliation.
- Upon submitting their final version, presenters also confirm that the content of their submission is their own. Any use of content produced by others should be appropriately referenced in the submission.
- Presentations cannot be used for marketing purposes.
- Submissions generated, in whole or in part, by AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT or similar systems) will not be accepted.
The inaugural Valentia Island Symposium on Subsea Cable Security and Resilience was a three day event held at the historic Cable Station on 10-12 October 2024. The event brought together stakeholders from across government, industry and academia to discuss efforts underway to strengthen the security and resilience of subsea telecommunications cables. It was hosted by the Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation and organised by Irish and international researchers as well as Irish and global industry actors.
The Symposium proceedings are available to download here.
Over 150 years ago, the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was laid between Foilhammerum Bay, Valentia Island in Ireland and Heart's Content in Newfoundland, Canada, thereby reducing the time to communicate between the Old and New Worlds from weeks to minutes. The technology revolution had begun which had a profound effect on commerce around the globe. It all started here!
The 2026 Valentia Island Symposium on Subsea Cable Security and Resilience is sponsored and supported by a range of entities including:
