...THE UNDERWATER TUBES THAT CONNECT US!! - When former US senator Ted Stevens described the internet in 2006 as a “series of tubes” he was mocked mercilessly, but as this map of the vast network of undersea cables that the internet runs through is anything to go by, he wasn’t too far off. Created by telecoms data company TeleGeography, the map shows the paths, junctions and by-ways of the more than 300 fibre optic cables that exchange internet traffic across the globe. [Click through the gallery below to find out more about the undersea cables that make the internet a reality] Although we often think of the internet as something that happens over the airwaves via satellites but in reality more than 99 per cent of international communications is delivered by undersea cables. Satellites are good at broadcasting stuff but when it comes to exchanging data cables are simply less fuss and much, much cheaper. The foundations of the global map of cables you see above actually began with the invention of the telegraph in the 19th century. The first succesful transatlantic cable was laid in 1858 (nothing mroe than coppper wire insulated by gutta percha) and the first ever message sent was a congratulatory letter from Queen Victoria to US president James Buchanan on 16 August...
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 08:25:53 +0000
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