4.2　Capacity

4.2.1　For a repeaterless submarine cable system，the transmission line bit rate shall be determined according to the distance between landing stations，and the number of fibers shall be determined according to mid-term and long-term capacity demand while balancing the technical and economic aspects.

4.2.2　For a repeatered submarine cable system，the number of fibers shall be determined by considering the cost，mid-and long-term capacity demand and the capacity of the power feeding system.

4.2.3　For a repeatered submarine cable system，state-of-the-art technologies in the industry shall be adopted，design capacity shall be determined according to fiber type and the distance between optical submarine repeaters so as to achieve the minimal cost per unit design capacity；the initial capacity of SLTE may be determined according to short-term demand.