Where Undersea Cables Go

The Internet depends on three-inch-thick cables that stretch from continent to continent

By Lauren Aaronson Posted 02.08.2008 at 2:31 pm 5 Comments

Map of Undersea Cables: TeleGeography

Undersea cables have made big news in the last few days, ever since several cables were cut last week near Dubai and Alexandria, disrupting Internet service all over the Middle East. (The latest news: It looks like a ship’s anchor sliced one of the cables. Oops!) The accident draws attention to how much our modern lives depend on unseen cables—just three inches thick and buried under sand—that most of us have never even thought about. There are hundreds of thousands of miles of these things snaking under our seas, with even more on the way.

Take a look at this awesome map from the research group Telegeography. It shows more than 120 major undersea cable systems, including the longest one, which clocks in at more than 24,000 miles. The map also includes stats on the amount of data the cables carry (about two terabytes a second under the Atlantic) and a diagram of how they work. Download a free version of to use as wallpaper on your computer—and the next time a cable gets cut, you’ll be able to figure out which countries won’t be receiving any email that day.

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5 Comments

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Myo Han Htun

02/11/08 at 12:03 am

I thought it happened last year when we got problems and slow connections. Anyway, this article is very interesting and very valuable for us for tracking whenever we get those problems in the future. Thanks for great figure.

Myo Han Htun

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sweet-vince

02/12/08 at 11:09 am

i didnt even know we had cables in the sea until i read this article, but when i read it i thought of problems with it. i think it would be easier for us to just use sat's.

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KyleBritz

04/27/09 at 6:07 pm

what are the electromagnetic reactions to these in reference to current change in water systems and the bio-habitat for the marine-life?

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Grospellier

10/29/09 at 9:56 am

This map is amazing, and I never realized how complex the underlying structure to support the Internet as we know was. Astonishing work to pull all these cables deep undersea. I like the way Hawaii is used as a hub in the middle of the Pacific. www.born4holdem.com

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jerrypaulmorgan

09/05/10 at 2:45 pm

I love seeing things like this they are truly amazing http://www.wowpartyrental.com

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