What is Submarine communications cable?
New Delhi, Aug 10: A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea.
The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried telegraphy traffic, establishing the first instant telecommunications links between continents, such as the first transatlantic telegraph cable which became operational on 16 August 1858.
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Subsequent generations of cables carried telephone traffic, then data communications traffic. Modern cables use optical fibre technology to carry digital data, which includes telephone, Internet and private data traffic.
Types
of
Submarine
fiber
cables:
There
are
two
types
of
Submarine
fibre
cables:
unrepeatered
and
repeatered.
Unrepeatered cables are preferred in short cable routes because it does not require repeaters, lowering costs; however, their maximum transmission distance is limited.
How Fibre optic cables are placed under the ocean?
Submarine cables are laid down by using specially-modified ships that carry the submarine cable on board and slowly lay it out on the seabed as per the plans given by the cable operator.
Importance
of
submarine
cables
Currently
99
per
cent
of
the
data
traffic
that
is
crossing
oceans
is
carried
by
undersea
cables.
The
reliability
of
submarine
cables
is
high,
especially
when
(as
noted
above)
multiple
paths
are
available
in
the
event
of
a
cable
break.
Also,
the
total
carrying
capacity
of
submarine
cables
is
in
the
terabits
per
second,
while
satellites
typically
offer
only
1,000
megabits
per
second
and
display
higher
latency.
However,
a
typical
multi-terabit,
transoceanic
submarine
cable
system
costs
several
hundred
million
dollars
to
construct.
As a result of these cables' cost and usefulness, they are highly valued not only by the corporations building and operating them for profit, but also by national governments. For instance, the Australian government considers its submarine cable systems to be "vital to the national economy".
Accordingly,
the
Australian
Communications
and
Media
Authority
(ACMA)
has
created
protection
zones
that
restrict
activities
that
could
potentially
damage
cables
linking
Australia
to
the
rest
of
the
world.
The
ACMA
also
regulates
all
projects
to
install
new
submarine
cables.
Submarine
cables
are
important
to
the
modern
military
as
well
as
private
enterprise.
The US military, for example, uses the submarine cable network for data transfer from conflict zones to command staff in the United States. Interruption of the cable network during intense operations could have direct consequences for the military on the ground.