Fostering Digital Synergy: New partnership models, leveraging IP between submarine cable operators, ISPs, content providers, and hyper-scale companies

Collaborations between cable operators, Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and hyper-scale companies are forming the foundation for a new era of connectivity in the rapidly shifting digital landscape. These innovative partnerships go beyond the traditional boundaries, ushering in efficient, resilient, and customer-centric solutions while also introducing strategic approaches to the management of intellectual property (IP).

This article delves into contemporary partnership models that redefine norms and uncover the potential of alliances among vital digital players. It emphasizes the pivotal role of strategic IP strategies, intertwining innovation, and collaboration through tactics like patent acquisition, licensing, and Invention-on-Demand of new patents. We reveal the synergy between pioneering partnership models and strategic IP approaches through real-world examples and conceptual frameworks, showing how these integrated strategies drive collective progress and propel the digital frontier forward.

Peering Agreements and Internet Exchanges

ISPs and content providers can form peering agreements and connect through Internet exchange points. Submarine cables are used to transmit data between continents. Peering agreements and internet exchanges are agreements between ISPs and content providers to connect through internet exchange points. These agreements allow ISPs and content providers to exchange traffic with each other for mutual benefit. An example of how these two concepts can be related is when two ISPs form a peering agreement and connect through an internet exchange point. The data exchanged between the two ISPs can be transmitted through submarine cables2.

Example IP Strategy: Employ a combination of patented routing algorithms developed about data how that data is exchanged between the two ISPs. The patents can help control the peering agreement deals.

Hyperscale Data Center Collaborations

Hyperscale companies operating massive data centers can partner with cable operators and ISPs to establish direct connections between their data centers and submarine cable landing stations. This ensures high-speed, low-latency connectivity for their cloud services.

Example IP Strategy: Acquire relevant patents to strengthen your data transmission protocols. Consider creating a set of IP trading cards, showcasing your crucial IP assets and opening up opportunities for strategic negotiation for collaboration.

Content Delivery Network (CDN) Partnerships

Content providers and ISPs can collaborate to optimize content delivery through CDNs. ISPs can cache popular content locally, reducing the load on international connections and improving user experience—For example, IP Strategy: Inlicense cutting-edge caching algorithms to enhance your CDN’s efficiency. Create blocking patents around proprietary caching methods to ensure your competitive edge. Utilize enabled publications to disseminate the benefits of your innovative content delivery system while keeping core strategies as trade secrets.

Shared Investment in Infrastructure

Internet service providers (ISPs), cable operators, and hyper-scale companies can split the costs of constructing and maintaining the infrastructure of submarine cables, landing stations, and terrestrial networks. A hyper-scale company is an organization that runs data centers on a massive scale and has cloud infrastructure to support its business operations. Companies that fall into the hyperscale category include cloud service providers (CSPs) and large internet corporations with extremely high computing, storage, and networking needs. This method of distributed investment has the potential to hasten the expansion of the network while reducing the associated financial burdens.

Example IP Strategy: Create patents in the infrastructure space, and use that as part of a trade for a shared investment. An example of this type of patent is an application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/943,600, entitled “SUBMARINE CABLE ARCHITECTURE WITH REDUNDANCY FOR FACILITING SHARED LANDING SITE” filed on Dec 4, 2019. The contents of the application are incorporated by reference in its entirety.[1]

Joint Research and Innovation

Cable operators, ISPs, and content providers can partner to research and develop new technologies for improving data transmission efficiency, security, and reliability. Collaborative innovation can drive the industry forward. A real-world example of a Joint Research and Innovation Deal is the partnership between Google, Facebook, and Microsoft to build a new undersea cable to improve data transmission efficiency, security, and reliability. The cable is called MAREA and runs from Virginia Beach in the United States to Bilbao in Spain. The project was completed in 2018 and is one of the highest-capacity undersea cables ever built.

Example IP Strategy: Establish an in-house invention-on-demand framework, allowing you to generate patents aligned with your joint research goals quickly. Create a collaborative IP vault where partners contribute and access common-use patents. Use licensing agreements to facilitate cross-partner utilization of inventions.

Quality of Service (QoS) Agreements

ISPs and content providers can establish QoS agreements to ensure consistent and high-quality data transmission for specific services or applications. This is particularly important for services like video streaming and online gaming. An example patent in QoS is “WIRELESS LINK CONTROL BASED ON TIME AVERAGED SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE AND QUALITY OF SERVICE” Apr 26, 2023. [2]

Example IP Strategy: Purchase patented QoS measurement techniques to enhance your QoS portfolio and use this to leverage your QoS agreements. 

Capacity Resale Agreements

Cable operators can lease excess capacity to ISPs and content providers, allowing them to offer their services with increased bandwidth and improved performance. An example of a capacity resale agreement for ISPs and content providers is when an ISP buys capacity on another ISP’s network and resells that capacity to its customers. This allows the ISP to offer its customers more bandwidth without building out its network.

Example IP Strategy: Invent new dynamic capacity-sharing mechanisms to optimize resource allocation. Consider creating a patent portfolio and offering sublicensing to partners.

Network Redundancy Collaborations

Partnerships can be formed to enhance network redundancy by using multiple routes and connections. This can mitigate the impact of cable failures and disruptions. Network redundancy collaborations enhance network redundancy by using multiple routes and connections. This can mitigate the impact of cable failures and disruptions. Network redundancy collaborations can be formed between ISPs, cable operators, and content providers to enhance network redundancy by using multiple routes and connections. This can help ensure data is delivered reliably and efficiently, even during cable failures or disruptions. In addition to enhancing network reliability, network redundancy collaborations can help reduce costs by allowing companies to share the cost of building and maintaining network infrastructure. Finally, network redundancy collaborations can help improve overall network performance by providing more bandwidth and faster connections between networks.

An example patent would be “Submarine cable architecture with redundancy for facilitating shared landing site,” where an undersea fiber optic cable architecture including a beach manhole (BMH) installed at a terrestrial site, a terrestrial station connected to the BMH by a terrestrial fiber optic cable, a first landing cable extending from the BMH into territorial waters adjacent the terrestrial site and connected to a first enhanced branching unit (EBU) located in the territorial waters, a second landing cable extending from the BMH into the territorial waters and connected to a second EBU located in the territorial waters, a recovery path cable connecting the first EBU to the second EBU, a first trunk cable extending from the first EBU into international waters, and a second trunk cable extending from the second EBU into the international waters. [3]

Example IP Strategy:    As any ISPs, cable operators, or content providers, take patents like the example above and file new patents on the specific “points of view” improvements and use these patents to enhance the negotiations and investment in the collaboration parties.

Shared Network Operations Centers (NOCs)

Cable operators, ISPs, and hyperscale companies can establish shared NOCs to monitor and manage network performance, security, and maintenance collaboratively.

Example IP Strategy:  Consider a very careful IP co-development agreement so that one company’s “sharing” of technology doesn’t get immediately reused by other partners in other NOCs.

Local Content Initiatives

ISPs and content providers can collaborate to create and promote local content, addressing the preferences and needs of specific regions. This can foster greater engagement and customer loyalty. For example, a local news website could focus on news and events in a specific region.

Example IP Strategy: In-license essential trade secrets related to content creation processes and distribution strategies. Explore hiring local content creators or collaborating with them through cross-partner initiatives. Own the content provided for local reuse.

Managed Services Offerings

Cable operators and ISPs can provide managed services to content providers and hyperscale companies, including dedicated connectivity, security solutions, and performance optimization. Some of the services could be (1) Dedicated connectivity, (2) security solutions, (3) Performance optimization, (4) Cloud services, (5) Network monitoring and management, (6) Backup and disaster recovery, (7) Virtualization and storage management, (8) VoIP and unified communications, (9) Managed Wi-Fi services and (10) Professional services.

Example IP Strategy:   Explore the possibility of hiring essential inventors with expertise in these areas and consider running a brainstorming session to find cross-area IP that can be leveraged in partnerships, for instance crossing Network monitoring with managed Wi-Fi service could yield many new opportunities such as (1) Real-time Network Health Visualization, (2) Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (3) Anomaly Detection and Threat Mitigation, etc.

Government and Public-Private Partnerships

Governments can play a role in facilitating partnerships that promote digital connectivity. Public-private partnerships can help fund infrastructure projects and ensure equitable access to high-speed internet.

Example IP Strategy: Engage in collaborative IP creation with governments to develop mutually beneficial patents for digital connectivity solutions. Own the IP for leverage in partnership formation. For instance;

• Submarine Cable Data Hubs: Governments can partner with private entities to establish submarine cable data hubs strategically located near landing stations. These hubs would serve as data exchange points where data from submarine cables is efficiently routed, processed, and distributed to various regions. Public-private partnerships can fund the construction and maintenance of these hubs, ensuring high-speed connections and reducing latency for data transmitted via submarine cables. This collaboration enhances data transmission efficiency and accelerates digital connectivity for regions connected by these cables.
• Oceanic Research and Connectivity Centers: Collaborative efforts between governments and private organizations can create oceanic research and connectivity centers. These centers would leverage submarine cable data to facilitate oceanography, climate, and marine life research. Additionally, they can house state-of-the-art data processing and analytics infrastructure to optimize data transmission from submarine cables. By channeling resources into these centers, public-private partnerships contribute to scientific exploration and improved connectivity by efficiently managing submarine cable data.

Conclusion

In a realm defined by rapid shifts and digital evolution, the emergence of collaborations among cable operators, ISPs, content providers, and hyper-scale companies is shaping a pioneering foundation for a new era of connectivity. These innovative partnerships transcend conventional boundaries, ushering in solutions characterized by efficiency, resilience, and a customer-centric approach. The infusion of strategic intellectual property (IP) management further distinguishes this paradigm shift.

The exploration undertaken in this article delves deep into the landscape of contemporary partnership models, redefining norms and laying bare the latent potential residing in alliances among pivotal digital stakeholders. It underscores the quintessential role of strategic IP strategies, artfully intertwining innovation and collaboration via tactics like patent acquisition, licensing, and the dynamic concept of Invention-on-Demand for new patents. Through the lens of real-world instances and visionary frameworks, the symbiotic interplay between pioneering partnership models and strategic IP approaches becomes evident, illustrating how this fusion propels collective advancement and steers the digital frontier into uncharted territories.

As each partnership model underscores unique facets of the digital realm, this narrative is entwined with the dynamic undercurrent of submarine cables that serve as the conduits for global data flow. From peering agreements and data center collaborations to content delivery networks and network redundancy, the narrative evolves alongside the strategic orchestration of intellectual property.

Thus, as the contours of these groundbreaking partnerships unfold, so too does the narrative of intellectual property strategy. Each model becomes a testament to innovation and cooperation and a canvas where intellectual property tactics are strategically wielded to enhance negotiation, fortify competitiveness, and drive collective progress. At the intersection of pioneering partnership models and strategic intellectual property approaches, the digital frontier finds its momentum, illuminating a path forward that holds the promise of reshaping the digital landscape for generations to come.

[1] https://patents.justia.com/patent/20210175699

[2] https://patents.justia.com/patent/20230262744

[3] https://patents.google.com/patent/EP3832908A1/en?q=(network+redundancy)+(submarine+cables)&oq=(network+redundancy)+and+(submarine+cables)