TeleGeography’s Submarine Cable Map not too long ago hit a brand new milestone: depicting over 550 cable programs.
As of June 2023, that’s a whopping 485 in-service programs, with one other 70 deliberate.
The variety of cable programs we research is continually rising. This is because of huge funding on this infrastructure—each alongside main routes and to small islands—in addition to our ongoing efforts to trace international programs in additional element.
Nonetheless, the variety of in-service programs is larger now than in every other yr throughout the final 20 years.
What’s included on this depend?
We concentrate on publicly-known communications programs; undersea traces completely devoted to energy transmission, analysis networks, and personal authorities use are excluded. As soon as cables are retired, we take away them from our on-line map.
In March, I had the possibility to affix my colleague Greg Bryan on TeleGeography Explains the Web to speak by the cable-tracking course of.
You’ll be able to hearken to the total episode over right here.
What will we imply by cable programs?
The variety of cable programs we observe is completely different from the entire point-to-point connections proven on the map.
The variety of cable programs we observe is completely different from the entire point-to-point connections proven on the map.
Every cable system is uniquely designed to suit its capability necessities and native geography. As such, it could include a number of segments or branches, as do over half of the programs on our map.
The distinction between cable programs and segments is most simply demonstrated within the Atlantic. Though there are solely 12 in-service trans-Atlantic cable programs, 17 segments truly cross this route.
That is made doable by programs like Vodafone’s Apollo, which not too long ago celebrated its twentieth birthday. Apollo connects the U.S., France, and the U.Okay. by two parallel paths—one North, the opposite South, and every with their very own pair of touchdown stations.
Interactive map followers will likely be acquainted with our month-to-month cable trivia. We not too long ago requested map viewers to ponder the common variety of landings per system on the map. Our winner acknowledged the complexity of subsea system design by appropriately guessing not two, not three, however 5!
For those who’d like the possibility to win a free map by your individual information of subsea programs, click on right here (or search for the blue icon within the backside left nook of the map).
Submit the proper reply and also you’ll be entered to win a free submarine cable map. There’s a brand new little bit of trivia—and a brand new probability to win—each month.
