Submarine Cable Map
Ever wondered what actually feeds the internet? We all know that by its nature, the internet is connected in many ways to create a single entity. You may have thought that the internet traffic moves through satellites?
Well the physical structure that moves Internet data from one point to another is, in fact, a series of tubes, or submarine cables. Thanks to data firm Telegeography, we can see exactly where the cables are situated. The interactive map shows a network of 188 existing and planned submarine cables used to carry Internet data. Navigate and play with the interactive map here.
Tim Stronge, of Telegeography, who created the map, says, ‘Submarine cables are very expensive to build (generally ranging from $100m – $500m) but they deliver a huge amount of capacity’.
Amazingly only 10 percent of Internet traffic currently moves through satellites.
So the next time your internet goes down, you may want to think about the undersea cables that are feeding your connection.
Damage can break the tubes; in 2006 an underwater earthquake off the coast of Taiwan, for brought internet services down. There is actually a whole fleet of ships dedicated to fixing the Internet”s damaged cables. Popular Mechanics wrote a fascinating story about them a few years ago. The ships use sonar, video cameras and a multimillion-dollar remotely operated vehicle affectionately named ÔÇ£The BeastÔÇØ to locate and fix damaged cables.
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