IOS not older than March, though. PIM-SM deployed in Sprint Internet network . MSDP peering between intra-domain RPs . From monopoly to free market. Now, several new carriers have international carrier agreements.
New cables are entirely private.
Lasted 49 days. 3000 STM-16 in a fiber. It may take 6 hours before the cable reaches the bottom of the sea. Repeaters are 3 meters long. Signals are not regenerated but amplified.