The Cables That Connect the World

The internet relies on roughly 1.5 million kilometers of fiber-optic cables buried on the ocean floor rather than satellite transmission, with data traveling through carefully engineered submarine cables that surface at specific coastal landing points. These cables, which are about as thick as a garden hose and weigh 1.4 tonnes per kilometer, are owned infrastructure rather than the ambient, ownerless system most people imagine the internet to be. Landing sites require specific geographical conditions like gentle slopes and low marine traffic to prevent cable damage from anchors and trawlers.