How Does The Internet Connect Overseas?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Most of what you see on the internet, including possibly this article, travels to you from underwater. In fact, 99% of all international data is

transferred through a labyrinth of cables stretching across the floor of the world’s oceans

. There are 229 of them, each no thicker than a soda can.

How does Internet connection work overseas?

Most of what you see on the internet, including possibly this article, travels to you from underwater. In fact,

99% of all international data is transferred through a labyrinth of cables stretching across the floor of the world’s oceans

. There are 229 of them, each no thicker than a soda can.

How does Internet go between continents?


Undersea cables

are responsible for moving data between countries and continents at high speeds, making everything from photo sharing to financial transactions possible. These cables use fiber optics to move data at high speeds to land, where the data is then conveyed via fiber optics to homes and businesses.

How does the internet get across the ocean?

While most of us now largely experience the internet through Wi-Fi and phone data plans, those

systems eventually link up with physical cables that

swiftly carry the information across continents or across oceans. … The ship will carry over 4,000 miles of cable weighing about 3,500 metric tons when fully loaded.

Are Internet cables under the sea?

Today, more than 99% of international communications are carried over fiber optic cables, most of them

undersea

, according to TeleGeography. … The easiest way of doing so is not by tapping the cable, but the point where it connects to land.

Who owns undersea cables?

TeleGeography, another research firm that has been one of the go-to sources for information on the undersea cable market for many years, stated in a list updated after the Echo and Bitfrost announcements that

Google

now has an ownership stake in at least 16 current or planned undersea cables around the world (It’s the …

Where does internet come from?

The Internet developed from

the ARPANET

, which was funded by the US government to support projects within the government and at universities and research laboratories in the US – but grew over time to include most of the world’s large universities and the research arms of many technology companies.

Who pays for undersea internet cables?

Today, there are around 380 underwater cables in operation around the world, spanning a length of over 1.2 million kilometers (745,645 miles). Underwater cables are the invisible force driving the modern internet, with many in recent years being funded by

internet giants such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon

.

Who controls internet in the world?

The Internet is different. It is coordinated by a private-sector nonprofit organization called

the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

, which was set up by the United States in 1998 to take over the activities performed for 30 years, amazingly, by a single ponytailed professor in California.

What happens if an undersea cable breaks?


Earthquakes

—like ships’ anchors and fishing trawls—can cause undersea fiber-optic cables to malfunction or break many miles below the surface of the water. … A working fiber will transmit those pulses all the way across the ocean, but a broken one will bounce it back from the site of the damage.

How fast are undersea cables?

Each wavelength carries a 9.6 (nominally 10) G signal, giving a

640 Gbit/s

total capacity. 10 Gbit/s on transatlantic section, 40 Gbit/s from Boston to Nova Scotia.

Do submarines have internet?

Subnero, a Singapore-based sub-aquatic internet firm. … To connect with terrestrial technologies, the nodes communicate with gateway buoys on the water’s surface, linking to the above-sea internet via cellular networks or satellites. Still, undersea broadband

is a way off

, due to the low data rates.

What company has the largest fiber optic network?


AT&T Fiber

had the highest coverage with 11.66 percent of the population in the United States (US) covered as of September 2020. Crown Castle Fiber ranked second with a 11.11 percentage coverage in the same month.

What companies run underwater cables?

  • Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks SAS (France)
  • Ciena Corporation (USA)
  • Fujitsu Limited (Japan)
  • Huawei Marine Networks Co., Limited (China)
  • Infinera Corporation (USA)
  • Kokusai Cable Ship Co., Ltd. …
  • Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan)

Who owns the most fiber network?

Our analysis of fiber networks held by U.S.-based companies found telcos in control of the three largest fiber networks.

AT&T Inc.

and Verizon Communications Inc. alone combine for more than 2.2 million route miles, more than half of the total in our survey of publicly available data.

Diane Mitchell
Author
Diane Mitchell
Diane Mitchell is an animal lover and trainer with over 15 years of experience working with a variety of animals, including dogs, cats, birds, and horses. She has worked with leading animal welfare organizations. Diane is passionate about promoting responsible pet ownership and educating pet owners on the best practices for training and caring for their furry friends.