An undersea cable branching architecture, comprising: a first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and a second switching branching unit (1.2.2) coupled to a first trunk undersea fiber optic cable; a third undersea switching branching unit (2.1.2) and a fourth undersea switching branching unit (2.2.2) coupled to a second trunk undersea fiber optical cable; a first branch cable coupled to the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and the third switching branching unit (2.1.2), the first branch cable including at least two fiber pairs and at least one electrical power conductor, wherein the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) is operable to switch a high voltage electrical power supplied by the first trunk undersea fiber optic cable to the first branch cable; a second branch cable coupled to the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) and the fourth switching branching unit (2.2.2), the second branch cable including at least two fiber pairs and at least one electrical power conductor, wherein the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) is operable to switch a high voltage electrical power supplied by the second trunk undersea fiber optic cable to the second branch cable; and a first power termination unit coupled to the first branch cable, between the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and the third switching branching unit (2.1.2), the first power termination unit having a first port coupled to the at least one electrical power conductor of the first branch cable and a second port; a second power termination unit coupled to the second branch cable, between the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) and the fourth switching branching unit (2.2.2), the second power termination units having a first port coupled to the at least one electrical power conductor of the second branch cable and a second port, wherein each of first and second power termination units (212,214) is operable to:obtain the high voltage electrical power from the at least one electrical power conductor (251,253)of the respective branch cable, convert the high voltage electrical power from the respective switching branching unit (1.1.1, 1.1.2) to electrical power with a lower voltage than the high voltage electrical power, and supply the electrical power with the lower voltage to the second port. a first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and a second switching branching unit (1.2.2) coupled to a first trunk undersea fiber optic cable; a third undersea switching branching unit (2.1.2) and a fourth undersea switching branching unit (2.2.2) coupled to a second trunk undersea fiber optical cable; a first branch cable coupled to the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and the third switching branching unit (2.1.2), the first branch cable including at least two fiber pairs and at least one electrical power conductor, wherein the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) is operable to switch a high voltage electrical power supplied by the first trunk undersea fiber optic cable to the first branch cable; a second branch cable coupled to the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) and the fourth switching branching unit (2.2.2), the second branch cable including at least two fiber pairs and at least one electrical power conductor, wherein the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) is operable to switch a high voltage electrical power supplied by the second trunk undersea fiber optic cable to the second branch cable; and a first power termination unit coupled to the first branch cable, between the first switching branching unit (1.1.2) and the third switching branching unit (2.1.2), the first power termination unit having a first port coupled to the at least one electrical power conductor of the first branch cable and a second port; a second power termination unit coupled to the second branch cable, between the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) and the fourth switching branching unit (2.2.2), the second power termination units having a first port coupled to the at least one electrical power conductor of the second branch cable and a second port, wherein each of first and second power termination units (212,214) is operable to:obtain the high voltage electrical power from the at least one electrical power conductor (251,253)of the respective branch cable, convert the high voltage electrical power from the respective switching branching unit (1.1.1, 1.1.2) to electrical power with a lower voltage than the high voltage electrical power, and supply the electrical power with the lower voltage to the second port. a second power termination unit coupled to the second branch cable, between the second switching branching unit (1.2.2) and the fourth switching branching unit (2.2.2), the second power termination units having a first port coupled to the at least one electrical power conductor of the second branch cable and a second port, wherein each of first and second power termination units (212,214) is operable to:obtain the high voltage electrical power from the at least one electrical power conductor (251,253)of the respective branch cable, convert the high voltage electrical power from the respective switching branching unit (1.1.1, 1.1.2) to electrical power with a lower voltage than the high voltage electrical power, and supply the electrical power with the lower voltage to the second port.