earth science

SEA-ME-WE 3

SEA-ME-WE 3 is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SEA-ME-WE 3 rather than just read about it. In short: SEA-ME-WE3 or South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 was an optical submarine telecommunications cable linking those regions and is the longest in the world. Completed in late 2000, it is led by France Telecom and China Telecom, and is administered by Singtel, a telecommunications operator owned by the Government of Singapore.

Key takeaways

SEA-ME-WE 3 belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SEA-ME-WE 3 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SEA-ME-WE 3 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SEA-ME-WE3 or South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 was an optical submarine telecommunications cable linking those regions and is the longest in the world. Completed in late 2000, it is led by France Telecom and China Telecom, and is administered by Singtel, a telecommunications operator owned by the Government of Singapore. The Consortium is formed by 92 other investors from the telecom industry. It was commissioned in March 2000. It is 39,000 kilometres (24,000 mi) long and uses wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) technology with Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) transmission to increase capacity and enhance the quality of the signal, especially over long distances (this cable stretches from North Germany to Australia and Japan). According to the cable system network administrator's website, the system capacity has been upgraded several times. The cable system itself has two fibre pairs, each carrying (as of May 2007) 48 wavelengths of 10 Gbit/s. In December 2009, the 4th 10G Upgrade increased WDM channels from 48 to 64 per fibre pair. On 1 January 2015, the 5th Capacity Expansion was distributed to all the owners. Data capacity of the submarine network is increased significantly with 100G technologies. On 2 December 2024, the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable system was declared end-of-life (EOL) and retired after 25 years of service. In early 2025, Subsea Environmental Services began cable recovery in the Mediterranean portion of the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable. The chartered MV Maasvliet vessel was designed for cable recovery use.

Landing points

It has 39 landing points which are in:

Norden, Germany Ostend, Belgium Goonhilly, United Kingdom Penmarch, France Sesimbra, Portugal Tetuan, Morocco Mazara del Vallo, Italy Chania, Greece Marmaris, Turkey Yeroskipou, Cyprus Alexandria, Egypt Suez, Egypt Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Djibouti, Djibouti Muscat, Oman Fujairah, United Arab Emirates Karachi, Pakistan Mumbai, India Kochi, India Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka Pyapon, Myanmar Satun, Thailand Penang, Malaysia Medan, Indonesia Tuas, Singapore Jakarta, Indonesia Perth, Australia Mersing, Malaysia Tungku, Brunei Da Nang, Vietnam Batangas, Philippines Taipa, Macau Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong Shantou, China Fangshan, Taiwan Toucheng, Taiwan Shanghai, China Geoje, South Korea Okinawa, Japan

History In December 1994, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by 16 Parties for the development of the SEA-ME-WE3 project between Western Europe and Singapore. In November 1996, additional MOUs were signed to extend the system from Singapore to the Far East and to Australia. Finally in January 1997, the Construction and Maintenance Agreement for SEA-ME-WE3 was signed by 92 International Carriers. By end-2000 the entire network was completed.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SEA-ME-WE 3

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SEA-ME-WE 3 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SEA-ME-WE 3 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SEA-ME-WE 3 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SEA-ME-WE 3

In research: SEA-ME-WE 3 appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SEA-ME-WE 3 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SEA-ME-WE 3 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000 establishments in Africa, 2000 establishments in Asia, 2000 establishments in Australia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SEA-ME-WE 3 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SEA-ME-WE 3 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SEA-ME-WE 3 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SEA-ME-WE 3 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SEA-ME-WE 3 in simple terms?

Why does SEA-ME-WE 3 matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SEA-ME-WE 3?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SEA-ME-WE 3.