Vice President of Engineering and Operations, Seaborn
Paul Cannon is vice president of engineering and operations at Seaborn. Prior to Seaborn, he served as vice president of planning and design for Global Marine Systems Limited (GMSL) as part of their joint venture business, Huawei Marine Networks (HMN). Paul led the solution design team at GMSL in the U.K. securing their first turnkey system installation project and later HMN’s first repeatered project.
Paul led the network operations team at Global Crossing on their Pan-European network. Paul was responsible for the PC-1 system and became global implementation manager where he merged the marine and terrestrial project teams as they planned, coordinated, and executed in excess of 60 new build and upgrade projects during a period of 12 months.
How can telecommunications technologies help humanity?
Telecommunications can help humanity in many ways, though I believe the key areas are still education and healthcare. Moving forward, the environment is extremely important as well and should be addressed as a key area. With the expansion of high-capacity subsea networks to underserviced or remote parts of the globe and 5G+ coming to the market, it is easier to provide a high-performance network to the individuals that need it. Telecommunications means providing specialized healthcare at a touch of the screen, access to learning from some of the top seats in education via remote learning, and the ability to disseminate information to the citizens of our planet on the impact we as a species are having and the changes that we all need to undertake to improve the environment we live in.
What network-related development will have the greatest impact in our industry?
Commercially available hollow fiber optic! Light propagates through silica glass fiber 31 percent slower than a vacuum. It might not be in my lifetime, and sounds as if it comes from a 1950s sci-fi comic, but it will be a real game-changer when it arrives!
Is it important for companies to continue to innovate their organization or offerings, and why?
Innovation is important for both the organization and the services it offers, giving the company an edge in an ever-changing marketplace. Competition pushes innovation which is a win-win scenario for the customer. There is no longer a place for monopolized telecommunications where the end customer is held back by a lack of innovation.
What value does PTC hold for you/your company?
The PTC Annual Conference gives us a stage where we can meet with the majority of our customers, suppliers, and competitors at a single event. At the same time, the conference offers exceptional speakers, panels, and innovative presentations.
What important piece of information should people know about PTC?
PTC is a non-profit membership organization facilitating better use of ICT throughout the region, which also reflects globally.
What advice would you share with current and future graduates interested in this field?
It’s an interesting field to work in and very rewarding. I can personally say that I never tire of what I do and never have a dull day. I would suggest reaching out to suppliers or manufacturers to see if there are internships available to get a feel for the industry.
What is something that not that many people know about you?
I started my career in telecoms up at the top of telephone poles for BT in West London in the pouring wind and rain, thinking there must be more to the industry than getting soaking wet and working on a twisted pair!
About Seaborn:
Seaborn addresses global communications needs across the Americas delivering wavelength, Ethernet private line, and IP services. Unique among independent cable operators, Seaborn fully operates and maintains its submarine and terrestrial cable infrastructure. POPs, terrestrial backhaul, landing stations, and subsea cable are all under Seaborn’s control. The Seaborn management team has designed, built, and operated more subsea cable systems than any other telecom management team including over 75 landing stations, 250 global POPs, and 250,000 km of subsea fiber optic cable. Visit www.seabornnetworks.com for more information or follow us on LinkedIn.
