Gizmodo: undersea cables

Places Where the Internet Actually Happens (In Real Life)

Danny Allen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Real, physical places form the Net's backbone: data centers, under-sea cables, junctions, optic fiber pipes. Wired traced a single bit's journey from England, across the US, and into Asia—a fascinating reminder at how physical the virtual really is.

This fortress, which looks like a heavily armed gas station preparing for a zombie invasion (without the gas pumps) is a stopping point for emails sent to many three-letter government agencies. It's far enough away from DC to survive a nuclear blast, but close enough to service all the relevant entities that depend on them. More beautiful, informative postcards from locations you may never have expected were so important over at: [Wired]

Oh Hello, This Is Just My Coaxial Tube

matt buchanan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:30:00 EDT

Yes, I picked this photo out of BoingBoing Gadget's fantastic illustrated history of transoceanic cable because it was the most obvious penis joke. This coaxial tube carried over 90,000 telephone calls simultaneously.

Also worth peeking at—the underseas cable system in 1901 versus today: Cable day at BoingBoing Gadgets, it's pretty excellent. If nothing else, you should find out whether or not your wives really do boff the cable guy. [BoingBoing Gadgets]

Eastern Telegraph's Vast Network of Undersea Cables, Circa 1901

John Herrman — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:40:00 EST

The year Queen Victoria died and Emperor Hirohito was born, there already existed a globe-spanning network of electronic communications cables. Not quite as cool as you thought you were, huh 2009? [Reddit]

Undersea Telecom Cables Cut Again: India, Middle East and Asia Hit Hard

Sean Fallon — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST

Earlier this year two telecom cables located in the Mediterranean were severed by passing ships. This is an extremely rare occurrence, which is why a second incident is cause for major concern.

A total of three out of four cables were severed this time around, leaving up to 65% of India without internet and phone service. Services to Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Taiwan and Pakistan have also been heavily impacted. If that fourth line goes we are talking about a complete blackout of the Middle East.

The cause for the damage is unknown at this time, although some believe recent seismic activity in the area could be to blame. Either way, the cables won't be fixed until the end of December at least—leaving millions of people in digital limbo...again. [BBC]

International Telecommunication Union Claims Cut Cables Were Sabotage

Adam Frucci — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:54:56 EST

While we've been told that those undersea cables that were cut a couple weeks ago were slashed by errant anchors, the International Telecommunication Union now claims that it was deliberate sabotage.

The reasoning? While one of the cables may have been cut by an anchor, the others were too deep for that to be a possibility. Also, five cables being cut in one week is highly improbable. I don't know how a saboteur gets that deep to cut cables in the first place, let alone five of them, so I'm highly skeptical. I mean, come on, aren't we giving the terrorists a bit too much credit here? This isn't a James Bond movie. The most likely culprit is still Godzilla as far as I'm concerned.

What do you guys think: terrorism, giant undersea lizards or some other explanation? [The Inquirer]