How do the internet wires get to sea floor level? And how would they get fixed if an issue arises?

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How do the internet wires get to sea floor level? And how would they get fixed if an issue arises?

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There’s specialised ships called “cable layers” whose job is doing this exact job. The ship carries gigantic spools of very thick cables, typically fiber optic cables, and as it sails it slowly lets out the cable on the seafloor. Care is taken so that the cable follows a good route through the sea floor, and divers or submersible vehicles may also be used to aid in this process. In many cases the cable is burried in the seafloor to be protected, though this is not always possible or necessary.

If a cable is cut, it is possible to detect the location of the fault by sending signals in the cable and measuring how long the signal travels for. A ship is sent out that fishes out the ends of the cut cable and it’s spliced with a new length of cable on the ship before it’s submerged back into the seafloor.

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