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from the If-you-laid-all-the-cables-end-to-end dept.
dotdotdot writes:
"All of the fiber-optic cables buried in the sea bed are logged by Washington research firm Telegeography in an interactive Submarine Cable Map. The company's research director Alan Mauldin told CNN about the world's underwater networks."
From the interview:
for international communications, over 99% is delivered by undersea cables.
75% of faults are due to external aggression the majority through human activity such as fishing, and ship's anchors.
There are about 13 cables in service across the Atlantic, and less than 20% of potential capacity is what we call "lit" or in service right now.
cables are designed to last for a minimum 25 years.
Once you build a cable the cost of buying capacity incrementally over time is very affordable.
The last cable across the Pacific cost $300 million; one cable that entered service last year in Asia reaching many locations cost $400 million
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ls671 on Wednesday March 05 2014, @06:24PM
Because it's about the same price to install a cable with over capacity. In fact, it ends up being much cheaper than doing 5 runs with a cable with lower capacity, especially if you take inflation into consideration.
Everything I write is lies, including this sentence.