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
1. Why do you think the probability of interference is extremely high? Fiber optic cables are extremely “clear” with virtually no interference. They’re not perfectly transparent though, so at various intervals there are optical amplifiers to boost the signal. They receive power through power wires laid along with the fiber optics and generally only need to be placed at intervals of many tens of kilometers or more.
2. In the deep ocean, they are laid on the seabed and are usually minimally protected since there’s very little that can damage them. In shallower waters where there is greater risk of damage from anchors and whatnot, they’re either clad in more protective layers or buried in the sea floor or both. The [Wikipedia has a good image](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable) of such a cable. In the event that the cable is broken for whatever reason, the operators are able to determine the location of the fault, send a repair ship that can locate the cable, haul it up from the seabed, repair the fault, and return it back to where it was before.
3. Typically they’re owned by one or more private companies (usually major global internet providers like AT&T, Tata Communications, etc., but also companies like Google) and laid be specialized cable-laying ships. Those ships can be owned by the cable owners or are contractors. Some cables are owned by governments. Cable owners lease access to the cables to various other network providers and carry traffic for them in exchange for money.
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