Patent ID: 6987902

Claim:
A branching unit adapted to be integrated into a submarine telecommunication system comprising at least three cables having optical and electrical transmission members, said branching unit comprising: three terminals connected to the electrical transmission members of the cables; three input points; three electrical contacts each between one of said terminals and one of said input points, wherein, in an operating configuration, and at a given time, first and second terminals of said three terminals are electrically connected together and form a trunk segment adapted to convey a trunk current, and the third terminal of said three terminals is electrically connected to a submarine ground to form a branch segment adapted to convey a branch current; reconfiguration means adapted to control said electrical contacts for switching purposes; voltage measuring means for measuring a voltage indicating a potential at a point on said trunk segment; means for receiving and processing an optical reconfiguration signal indicative of a reconfiguration request; and reconfiguration validation means coupled to said voltage measuring means and to said receiving and processing means and adapted to activate said reconfiguration means in accordance with said optical reconfiguration signal only if an absolute value of said potential is below a threshold.