SubCom

SubCom runs the physical layer that most security conversations skip. The company designs, builds, installs, and operates the subsea fiber-optic cable systems that carry communications traffic between continents - the long stretches of glass on the ocean floor where the internet's intercontinental capacity actually lives. It manages the full lifecycle of those networks: engineering and system design, permitting, cable manufacturing, marine installation and testing, then maintenance and operations once the system is live. The communications business dates to 1955, with roots extending to the mid-19th century.

The footprint is concrete. SubCom operates a 50-acre manufacturing campus with a deep-water pier in Newington, New Hampshire, and fields eight purpose-built cable ships and 15 submersible tools for installation and repair work. It has deployed more than 200 systems and installed enough cable to circle the equator over 25 times, spanning intercontinental routes as well as flexible regional networks.

Technical work spans subsea fiber-optic technology and submarine cable systems engineering through marine engineering, covering repeaterless and ultra-long-haul configurations as well as offshore and scientific applications. Because the same organization handles design, manufacturing, deployment, and ongoing operations, engineering problems - from cable integrity to permitting to marine testing - are worked end to end rather than handed between vendors.

SubCom was acquired by Cerberus in 2018 and rebranded as SubCom, LLC; David Coughlan returned as chief executive officer following the acquisition. The company's work sits at the intersection of telecommunications, subsea communications infrastructure, offshore operations, and scientific research.