Sharks are blameless. At the very least, they aren’t devouring the internet. Belonging to the class of cartilaginous fish, these creatures are generally not culpable for the majority, if not all, accusations of gnawing, munching, masticating, or in any other way assailing the submerged web of fiber-optic conduits. Those responsible for constructing and upholding the approximately 600 marine cables, which transport virtually all our global communications—facilitating nearly every gesture, press, video conference, and endless scrolling session across the globe—possess a complex sentiment towards this enduring fable, one that has endured for numerous decades. They may even resent my decision to commence this article by addressing it.
Should a cable hang above the ocean floor, a shark could conceivably mouth it during its exploration. Occasionally, they will dart towards a cable being extracted from the ocean. However, for a shark to genuinely sever a cable, one would need to encase it in fish, akin to concealing medication within a chunk of cheese for a canine companion. Terrestrial rodents, such as rats, pose a risk due to their continuously growing incisors, which they often sharpen by gnawing on pliable cables. Nevertheless, inquiries regarding rats are rare, perhaps because, as a companion of mine observed, “sharks lend an aura of coolness, whereas rats suggest a predicament.”
Occasionally, inquiries arise concerning satellites or, particularly in Sweden (my current residence), purported acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea. Nonetheless, throughout history, incidents involving shark teeth have garnered the greatest notoriety. This legend originated almost four decades prior, coinciding with the creation of an undersea fiber-optic conduit designated TAT-8. TAT-8 essentially pioneered the idea of an internet cable, and as it approaches its decommissioning, I dedicated time alongside the marine laborers, team members, and technical experts who are currently engaged in its retrieval from the ocean floor. Such is the authentic narrative of submerged cables—not tales of malicious damage or marine predators, but rather of the individuals who diligently manage the tangible infrastructure sustaining our uninterrupted digital exchange.
The conveyance of data via fiber optics constitutes an almost miraculous method of transmitting intelligence through light impulses. The majority of individuals seldom contemplate the swiftness with which we have embraced immediate communication as commonplace, even among those of us who recall when an overseas telephone conversation necessitated prior arrangement. As I encounter more individuals within this sector, within this intricate web of interconnected persons and objects, the more offensive it seems to be told that “we” only become aware of it upon its malfunction. (I consistently question the identity of this “we”.) Billions globally navigate their lives oblivious to this infrastructure, a testament to the ceaseless efforts of several thousand individuals, sometimes operating offshore, other times immersed in a deluge of authorizations, assessments, and procurement requests for thousands of kilometers of conduits destined to augment the millions of kilometers of cables already resting on the ocean floor, thereby ensuring our world remains perpetually embraced by illumination.
Furthermore, I must clarify another point. While commonly referred to as “internet cables,” their technical origin lies in the development of fiber-optic transmission for telephonic conversations. Among the contributors was an English scholar named Alec Reeves, who additionally dedicated his efforts to studying psychokinesis and telepathy. Through fiber, vocalizations transform into light, ripple along delicate glass filaments, and then revert to audible speech in your receiver at the distant terminus. Perhaps the conceptual chasm between this process and manipulating objects through mental power is not so vast.
TAT denotes Trans-Atlantic Telephone, and TAT-8—constructed by AT&T, British Telecom, and France Telecom—represented the eighth transoceanic network traversing the Atlantic. This marked the inaugural application of optical fibers for conveying data between the European continent and the United States. The theoretical groundwork for communication via fiber optics was established solely in the 1960s, with land-based cables seeing their initial deployment in the 1970s. Nevertheless, employing this advancement to bridge continents was virtually comparable to humanity’s ventures into cosmic exploration.
Upon TAT-8’s activation on December 14, 1988, the visionary author Isaac Asimov addressed audiences in Paris and London via video conference from New York, declaring: “I extend a welcome to all for this momentous transatlantic journey, this inaugural passage across the ocean facilitated by a light beam.” AT&T created a television commercial featuring a sincere narration that pledged a “global intelligent framework” enabling individuals to transmit data in any desired configuration to any recipient. Observe the sequence of telephone switchboard operators: “This is the AT&T operator. Is your call to Poland confirmed?” “I have your connection to Russia.” “Which Cuban city are you dialing?” Their intention to captivate the audience was not achieved through the prospect of the internet, which remained too specialized for general understanding at the time, but rather through the impending conclusion of the Cold War.
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