Some questions I’ve wandered about that I’m not able to understand
1. How do they avoid data loss considering that the probability of interferance across such long distance is extremely high
2. How are those cables phisically supported, and built to be able to sustain damage by corrosion, abrasion, animals, tides, etc
3. Who builds them and how is it profitable
In: Engineering
The lines are typically laid across the bottom of the ocean, and are heavy enough that they’re not going to be significantly affected by tides or currents or things like that. These days they’re often buried as much as is possible.
A very small percent of their cross sectional area is actually dedicated to the parts that carry data, much of the rest is various layers designed to protect the data carrying parts at the center. This typically includes metal tubing and a winding of steel cables, as well as multiple water proofing layers.
Deep down in the sea, there’s not much in terms of interference, especially because these days the cables tend to be fiber optic lines that use light to transmit the data.
Various telecommunications companies and other industry groups are usually the ones who pay for them, sometimes governments, and they can charge money to other companies that want to send data across them.
As end users, we generally don’t see any specific costs of bandwidth because we just pay rates to our cable company or phone carrier or whatever, but the ‘backbones’ of the internet have a whole system of contracts and agreements between the various companies that manage them and provide the bandwidth to keep the internet functional.
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