Undersea Cables & Starlink: The Hidden Conflicts of Global Connectivity
Virtual Briefing Series
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Global communication infrastructure is at the center of a geopolitical battle as nations and corporations strategize for security and control over undersea cables, satellite networks, and internet access. With privately owned systems like Starlink and OneWeb revolutionizing connectivity, security risks, ownership disputes, and the potential for strategic manipulation are key issues in a hyperconnected world. As digital connectivity becomes both a tool of economic power and a place of battle for global influence, how will competing ownership models and emerging security threats shape the future of communication? This discussion will provide insights into the risks, governance, and strategic significance of global communication infrastructure in an era of heightened geopolitical competition.
Join us on Tuesday, March 25, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM ET for a discussion with Dr. Joscha Abels, Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Tübingen; Professor Nicole Starosielski, Professor of Film & Media at UC Berkeley and author of “The Undersea Network”; and Nick Reese, Faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and former Director for Emerging Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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SPEAKERS:
Dr. Joscha Abels
Joscha Abels is a researcher and lecturer (PostDoc) at the Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen. He holds a PhD in political science, and has previously studied political science, economics, and international relations in Mannheim, Oslo, and Tübingen.
Joscha is project lead of the research project “EUInfra – Strategies of the EU in the global competition for economic expansion and geoeconomic control”, funded by the German Research Foundation. His research focuses on the geostrategic relevance of infrastructures and the political (geo)economy of the European Union. Currently, it particular deals with great power rivalry over communication infrastructure such as satellite systems and undersea cables.
Joscha is the author of “The politics of the Eurogroup” (Routledge). His work has been published in many renowned peer-reviewed journals including European Journal of International Relations, Journal of Common Market Studies, Comparative European Politics, and Competition & Change.
Joscha is a member of the research collective Second Cold War Observatory
Professor Nicole Starosielski
Nicole Starosielski conducts research on global internet and media distribution, communications infrastructures ranging from data centers to undersea cables, and media’s environmental and elemental dimensions. Starosielski is author or co-editor of over thirty articles and five books on media, infrastructure, and environments, including: The Undersea Network(link is external) (2015), Media Hot and Cold(link is external) (2021), Signal Traffic: Critical Studies of Media Infrastructure(link is external) (2015), Sustainable Media: Critical Approaches to Media and Environment(link is external) (2016), Assembly Codes: The Logistics of Media(link is external) (2021), as well as co-editor of the “Elements(link is external)” book series at Duke University Press.
Starosielski’s most recent project, Sustainable Subsea Networks(link is external), is focused on increasing the sustainability of digital infrastructures. The project team has developed a catalog of best practices for sustainability in the subsea cable industry—the backbone of the global internet—as well as a carbon footprint of a subsea cable. Starosielski is also a co-convenor of the SubOptic Association’s Global Citizen Working Group.
Starosielski teaches classes and supervises projects on digital media, environmental media, media and communications infrastructures, media history and theory, and integrated media theory and production, among other areas.
Nick Reese
Nick Reese is the Cofounder and COO of Frontier Foundry Corporation. He most recently served as thefirst ever Director of Emerging Technology Policy at the US Department of Homeland Security where he advised the White House and senior Cabinet officials on national security implications of emerging technologies. He is the author of the multiple White House, Cabinet-level, and other federal government policies, Executive Orders, National Security Memoranda, and strategies related to emerging technologies.
A noted expert in cyber operations, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and outer space, he currently holds a faculty position at the NYU Center for Global Affairs teaching graduate courses related to emerging technology and geopolitics. Mr. Reese has a 20+ year career in the US Military, Intelligence Community & Homeland security with a focus on operations and bringing technical solutions to high stakes national security challenges. From the front lines of the War on Terror to building Quantum Computing Policy he has been an instrumental actor in protecting our nation with eye both on today and the future.
Mr. Reese is a graduate of Saint Leo University and Old Dominion University. He lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and their dog.
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