cables
![Brian Piercy](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="%230A66C2"><path d="M20.447 20.452H16.89v-5.569c0-1.328-.027-3.037-1.852-3.037-1.853 0-2.136 1.445-2.136 2.939v5.667H9.351V9h3.414v1.561h.046c.477-.9 1.637-1.85 3.37-1.85 3.601 0 4.267 2.37 4.267 5.455v6.286zM5.337 7.433a1.982 1.982 0 1 1 0-3.964 1.982 1.982 0 0 1 0 3.964zm1.782 13.019H3.555V9h3.564v11.452zM22.225 0H1.771C.792 0 0 .774 0 1.729v20.542C0 23.227.792 24 1.771 24h20.451C23.2 24 24 23.227 24 22.271V1.729C24 .774 23.2 0 22.222 0h.003z"/></svg>)
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History was unmade last year, as engineers began the massive project of ripping the first-ever transoceanic fiber-optic cable from the ocean floor. Just don’t mention sharks.
Undersea internet cables are critical in today’s hyperconnected world. The crew of the Léon Thévenin maintains one stretch of this global network.
A cable design that sends light through air, rather than solid glass, could cut signal loss and make long-distance transmissions cheaper.
A recent, alleged Baltic Sea sabotage highlights the system’s fragility
The cables at the heart of the lightspeed, globe-spanning internet run across the grimy, perilous, inaccessible deeps of the sea, in places no one ever sees or visits – until the cables break.
The internet is a series of tubes. In the ocean.
Exclusive photos show the damage in detail. They may explain what happened, but the question of guilt remains.
TeleGeography's comprehensive and regularly updated interactive map of the world's major submarine cable systems and landing stations.