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{{short description|Communications cable across the Atlantic}}
{{short description|Communications cable across the Atlantic}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}
[[File:Cable_laying_machinery_on_the_Great_Eastern_(5092775547).jpg | thumb | right | Cable laying in the 1860s]]
A '''transatlantic telecommunications cable''' is a [[submarine communications cable]] connecting one side of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, [[coaxial cable]] came into use, with amplifiers. Late in the 20th century, all cables installed used [[optical fiber]] as well as [[optical amplifier]]s, because distances range thousands of kilometers.
A '''transatlantic telecommunications cable''' is a [[submarine communications cable]] connecting one side of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, [[coaxial cable]] came into use, with amplifiers. Late in the 20th century, all cables installed use [[optical fiber]] as well as [[optical amplifier]]s, because distances range thousands of kilometers.


==History==
==History==
When the first [[transatlantic telegraph cable]] was laid in 1858 by [[Cyrus West Field]], it operated for only three weeks; subsequent attempts in 1865 and 1866 were more successful. In July 1866 the Great Eastern sailed out of [[Valentia Island]], [[Ireland]] and on July 26th landed at [[Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador|Hearts Content]] in [[Newfoundland]]. It was active until 1965.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Guarnieri|first=M.|title=The Conquest of the Atlantic |journal=IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine|date=March 2014 | volume=8 | issue=1 |pages=53–55/67|doi=10.1109/MIE.2014.2299492}}</ref> Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elmore |first1=Bart |title=January 2017: From the Transatlantic Telephone to the iPhone |url=https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/january-2017-transatlantic-telephone-iphone |website=Origins |publisher=Ohio State University |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref> to be practical it needed a number of technological advances which did not arrive until the 1940s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}} Starting in 1927, transatlantic telephone service was radio-based.<ref>[http://alcatel-lucent.com/bstj/vol14-1935/articles/bstj14-3-489.pdf Short-Wave System for Transatlantic Telephony, by Polkinghorn and Schlaack] BSTJ, 1935</ref>
When the first [[transatlantic telegraph cable]] was laid in 1858 by [[Cyrus West Field]], it operated for only three weeks; a subsequent attempt in 1866 was more successful.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} On July 13, 1866 the [[cable layer|cable laying ship]] ''[[SS Great Eastern|Great Eastern]]'' sailed out of [[Valentia Island]], [[Ireland]] and on July 27 landed at [[Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador|Heart's Content]] in [[Newfoundland]], completing the first lasting connection across the Atlantic. It was active until 1965.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Guarnieri|first=M.|title=The Conquest of the Atlantic |journal=IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine|date=March 2014 | volume=8 | issue=1 |pages=53–55/67|doi=10.1109/MIE.2014.2299492}}</ref>


Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elmore |first1=Bart |title=January 2017: From the Transatlantic Telephone to the iPhone |url=https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/january-2017-transatlantic-telephone-iphone |website=Origins |publisher=Ohio State University |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref> to be practical it needed a number of technological advances which did not arrive until the 1940s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}} Starting in 1927, transatlantic telephone service was radio-based.<ref>[http://alcatel-lucent.com/bstj/vol14-1935/articles/bstj14-3-489.pdf Short-Wave System for Transatlantic Telephony, by Polkinghorn and Schlaack] BSTJ, 1935</ref>
⚫
[[TAT-1]] (Transatlantic No. 1) was the first transatlantic telephone cable system. It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near [[Oban]], and [[Clarenville]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] between 1955 and 1956 by the [[cable ship]] ''[[CS Monarch (1945)|Monarch]]''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=true "Being First Telephone Cable to Connect Hemispheres"]. ''Popular Mechanics'', March 1954, p. 114.</ref> It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956, initially carrying 36 telephone channels. In the first 24 hours of public service, there were 588 London–U.S. calls and 119 from London to Canada. The capacity of the cable was soon increased to 48 channels. Later, an additional three channels were added by use of C Carrier equipment. [[Time-assignment speech interpolation]] (TASI) was implemented on the TAT-1 cable in June 1960 and effectively increased the cable's capacity from 37 (out of 51 available channels) to 72 speech circuits. TAT-1 was finally retired in 1978. Later coaxial cables, installed through the 1970s, used [[transistor]]s and had higher bandwidth. The [[Moscow–Washington hotline]] was initially connected through this system.

⚫
[[TAT-1]] (Transatlantic No. 1) was the first transatlantic telephone cable system. It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near [[Oban]], and [[Clarenville]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] between 1955 and 1956 by the [[cable ship]] ''[[CS Monarch (1945)|Monarch]]''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA115 "Being First Telephone Cable to Connect Hemispheres"]. ''Popular Mechanics'', March 1954, p. 114.</ref> It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956, initially carrying 36 telephone channels. In the first 24 hours of public service, there were 588 London–U.S. calls and 119 from London to Canada. The capacity of the cable was soon increased to 48 channels. Later, an additional three channels were added by use of C Carrier equipment. [[Time-assignment speech interpolation]] (TASI) was implemented on the TAT-1 cable in June 1960 and effectively increased the cable's capacity from 37 (out of 51 available channels) to 72 speech circuits. TAT-1 was finally retired in 1978. Later coaxial cables, installed through the 1970s, used [[transistor]]s and had higher bandwidth. The [[Moscow–Washington hotline]] was initially connected through this system.


==Current technology==
==Current technology==
All cables presently in service use [[fiber optic]] technology. Many cables terminate in Newfoundland and Ireland, which lie on the [[great circle route]] (the shortest route) from [[London]], UK to [[New York City]], US.
All cables presently in service use [[fiber optic]] technology. Many cables terminate in Newfoundland and Ireland, which lie on the [[great circle route]] from [[London]], UK to [[New York City]], US.


There has been a succession of newer transatlantic cable systems. All recent systems have used [[fiber optic]] transmission, and a [[self-healing ring]] topology. Late in the 20th century, [[communications satellite]]s lost most of their North Atlantic telephone traffic to these low-cost, high-capacity, low-[[Latency (audio)|latency]] cables. This advantage only increases over time, as tighter cables provide higher bandwidth – the 2012 generation of cables drop the transatlantic latency to under 60 milliseconds, according to [[Hibernia Atlantic]], deploying such a cable that year.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204524604576610860386189444 |title=Building Networks for High-Speed Stock Trading - WSJ.com |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=October 9, 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref><ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/8753784/The-300m-cable-that-will-save-traders-milliseconds.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911194258/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/8753784/The-300m-cable-that-will-save-traders-milliseconds.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 11, 2011 |title=The $300m cable that will save traders milliseconds |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=September 11, 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref>
There has been a succession of newer transatlantic cable systems. All recent systems have used [[fiber optic]] transmission, and a [[self-healing ring]] topology. Late in the 20th century, [[communications satellite]]s lost most of their North Atlantic telephone traffic to these low-cost, high-capacity, low-[[Latency (audio)|latency]] cables. This advantage only increases over time, as tighter cables provide higher bandwidth – the 2012 generation of cables drop the transatlantic latency to under 60 milliseconds, according to [[Hibernia Atlantic]], deploying such a cable that year.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204524604576610860386189444 |title=Building Networks for High-Speed Stock Trading - WSJ.com |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=October 9, 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref><ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/8753784/The-300m-cable-that-will-save-traders-milliseconds.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911194258/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/8753784/The-300m-cable-that-will-save-traders-milliseconds.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 11, 2011 |title=The $300m cable that will save traders milliseconds |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=September 11, 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref>


Some new cables are being announced on the South Atlantic: [[SACS (cable system)|SACS]] (South Atlantic Cable System)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nec.com/en/press/201411/global_20141104_04.html|title=Angola Cables to build the world's first submarine cable across the South Atlantic: Press Releases - NEC}}</ref> and [[SAex]] (South Atlantic Express).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techcentral.co.za/16tbits-saex-cable-deal-signed/35811/|title=16Tbit/s SAEx cable deal signed}}</ref>
Some new cables are being announced on the South Atlantic: [[SACS (cable system)|SACS]] (South Atlantic Cable System)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nec.com/en/press/201411/global_20141104_04.html|title=Angola Cables to build the world's first submarine cable across the South Atlantic: Press Releases - NEC}}</ref> and [[SAex]] (South Atlantic Express).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techcentral.co.za/16tbits-saex-cable-deal-signed/35811/|title=16Tbit/s SAEx cable deal signed}}</ref>
Line 24: Line 27:
|[[TAT-1]]||1956–1978||Galvanic||36||51||[[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]||[[Scotland]]
|[[TAT-1]]||1956–1978||Galvanic||36||51||[[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]||[[Scotland]]
|-
|-
|[[TAT-2]]||1959–1982||Galvanic||48||72||[[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]||France
|[[TAT-2]]||1959–1982||Galvanic||48||72||[[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]||[[France]]
|-
|-
|[[TAT-3]]||1963–1986||Galvanic||138||276||[[New Jersey]]||[[England]]
|[[TAT-3]]||1963–1986||Galvanic||138||276||[[New Jersey]]||[[England]]
Line 30: Line 33:
|[[TAT-4]]||1965–1987||Galvanic||138||345||[[New Jersey]]||France
|[[TAT-4]]||1965–1987||Galvanic||138||345||[[New Jersey]]||France
|-
|-
|[[TAT-5]]||1970–1993||Galvanic||845||2,112||[[Rhode Island]]||Spain
|[[TAT-5]]||1970–1993||Galvanic||845||2,112||[[Rhode Island]]||[[Spain]]
|-
|-
|[[TAT-6]]||1976–1994||Galvanic||4,000||10,000||[[Rhode Island]]||France
|[[TAT-6]]||1976–1994||Galvanic||4,000||10,000||[[Rhode Island]]||France
Line 112: Line 115:
| April 2001
| April 2001
| 12,200 km
| 12,200 km
| 320 Gbit/s, upgraded to 10.16 Tbit/s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=180473|title=Hibernia Offers Cross-Atlantic 40G|publisher=Light Reading|date=August 13, 2009}}</ref>
| 320 Gbit/s, upgraded to 10.16&nbsp;Tbit/s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=180473|title=Hibernia Offers Cross-Atlantic 40G|publisher=Light Reading|date=August 13, 2009}}</ref>
| 59 ms<ref name="telegraph1"/>
| 59 ms<ref name="telegraph1"/>
| [[Lynn, Massachusetts|Lynn]], [[United States|US]]-[[Massachusetts|MA]]; [[Herring Cove, Nova Scotia|Herring Cove]], [[Canada|CA]]-[[Nova Scotia|NS]]; [[Dublin]], [[Ireland|IE]]-[[Leinster|L]]; [[Southport]], [[United Kingdom|GB]]-[[England|ENG]]; [[Coleraine]], [[United Kingdom|GB]]-[[Northern Ireland|NIR]]
| [[Lynn, Massachusetts|Lynn]], [[United States|US]]-[[Massachusetts|MA]]; [[Herring Cove, Nova Scotia|Herring Cove]], [[Canada|CA]]-[[Nova Scotia|NS]]; [[Dublin]], [[Ireland|IE]]-[[Leinster|L]]; [[Southport]], [[United Kingdom|GB]]-[[England|ENG]]; [[Coleraine]], [[United Kingdom|GB]]-[[Northern Ireland|NIR]]
Line 160: Line 163:
| January 2016
| January 2016
| 5,522 km
| 5,522 km
| 4 × 10 Tbit/s (four strand 100 × 100 Gbit/s)
| 4 × 10 Tbit/s (four strand 100 × 100&nbsp;Gbit/s)
| 54 ms
| 54 ms
| [[Shirley, New York|Shirley]], [[United States|US]]-[[New York (state)|NY]]; [[Killala]], [[Ireland|IE]]-[[Connacht|C]]
| [[Shirley, New York|Shirley]], [[United States|US]]-[[New York (state)|NY]]; [[Killala]], [[Ireland|IE]]-[[Connacht|C]]
Line 187: Line 190:
|
|
|[[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], [[United States|US]]-[[Virginia|VA]]; [[Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez]], [[France|FR]]
|[[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], [[United States|US]]-[[Virginia|VA]]; [[Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez]], [[France|FR]]
|[[Google]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/24/how-google-is-building-its-huge-subsea-cable-infrastructure/|title=How Google is building its huge subsea cable infrastructure|last=Sawers|first=Paul|date=April 24, 2019|website=VentureBeat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425163121/https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/24/how-google-is-building-its-huge-subsea-cable-infrastructure/|archive-date=April 25, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://9to5google.com/2019/04/05/google-dunant-undersea-fiber-cable/|title=Google's Dunant trans-Atlantic cable will deliver record-breaking capacity w/ first use of SDM tech|last=Li|first=Abner|date=April 5, 2019|website=9to5Google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425163227/https://9to5google.com/2019/04/05/google-dunant-undersea-fiber-cable/|archive-date=April 25, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 25, 2019}}</ref>
|[[Google]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/24/how-google-is-building-its-huge-subsea-cable-infrastructure/|title=How Google is building its huge subsea cable infrastructure|last=Sawers|first=Paul|date=April 24, 2019|website=VentureBeat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425163121/https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/24/how-google-is-building-its-huge-subsea-cable-infrastructure/|archive-date=April 25, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://9to5google.com/2019/04/05/google-dunant-undersea-fiber-cable/|title=Google's Dunant trans-Atlantic cable will deliver record-breaking capacity w/ first use of SDM tech|last=Li|first=Abner|date=April 5, 2019|website=[[9to5Google]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425163227/https://9to5google.com/2019/04/05/google-dunant-undersea-fiber-cable/|archive-date=April 25, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 25, 2019}}</ref>
|-
|-
| [[Havfrue]], including America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) branch
| [[Havfrue]], including America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) branch
Line 195: Line 198:
|
|
| [[New Jersey]], [[United States|US]]; [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland|RoI]]; [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]; [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands|NL]]; [[Blaabjerg]], [[Denmark|DK]]; [[Kristiansand]], [[Norway|NO]]
| [[New Jersey]], [[United States|US]]; [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland|RoI]]; [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]; [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands|NL]]; [[Blaabjerg]], [[Denmark|DK]]; [[Kristiansand]], [[Norway|NO]]
|[[AquaCommms]], Bulk Infrastructure, [[Facebook]] and [[Google]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aqua-comms-plans-havfrue-transatlantic-cable-network-funded-by-facebook-google/|title=Aqua Comms plans Havfrue, transatlantic cable network funded by Facebook, Google|work=Data Center Dynamics|date=January 16, 2018|author=Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox}}</ref>
|[[AquaCommms]], Bulk Infrastructure, [[Facebook]] and [[Google]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aqua-comms-plans-havfrue-transatlantic-cable-network-funded-by-facebook-google/|title=Aqua Comms plans Havfrue, transatlantic cable network funded by Facebook, Google|work=Data Center Dynamics|date=January 16, 2018|author=Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox}}</ref>
|-
|-
|[[Grace Hopper (submarine communications cable)|Grace Hopper]]
|[[Grace Hopper (submarine communications cable)|Grace Hopper]]
| September 2022
| 2022 (planned)
| 6,000km
| 6,000km
|352 Tbit/s
|352 Tbit/s
Line 206: Line 209:
|-
|-
|[[Amitié (submarine communications cable)|Amitié]]
|[[Amitié (submarine communications cable)|Amitié]]
| July 2023
| 2022 (planned)
| 6,600km
| 6,600km
|320 Tbit/s
|320 Tbit/s
Line 222: Line 225:
| [[Atlantis-2]] || February 2000 || 8,500 km || [[Carcavelos]], [[Portugal|PT]]; [[El Médano]], [[Spain|ES]]-[[Canary Islands|CN]]; [[Praia]], [[Cape Verde|CV]]; [[Dakar]], [[Senegal|SN]]; [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Las Toninas]], [[Argentina|AR]]-[[Buenos Aires Province|B]] || various telecom operators
| [[Atlantis-2]] || February 2000 || 8,500 km || [[Carcavelos]], [[Portugal|PT]]; [[El Médano]], [[Spain|ES]]-[[Canary Islands|CN]]; [[Praia]], [[Cape Verde|CV]]; [[Dakar]], [[Senegal|SN]]; [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Las Toninas]], [[Argentina|AR]]-[[Buenos Aires Province|B]] || various telecom operators
|-
|-
| [[EulaLink]] || Q2 2021 || 5,900 km || [[Sines]], [[Portugal|PT]]; [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Santos, São Paulo|Santos]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[São Paulo (state)|SP]] || [[Telebras]], [[IslaLink]]
| [[EllaLink]] || Q2 2021 || 5,900 km || [[Sines]], [[Portugal|PT]]; [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Santos, São Paulo|Santos]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[São Paulo (state)|SP]] || [[Telebras]], [[IslaLink]]
|-
| [[SAex]] || Q2 2018 || 13,050 km || [[Virginia Beach]], [[United States|US]]-[[Virginia|VA]]; [[Jamestown, Saint Helena|Jamestown]], [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|SH]]-[[Saint Helena|HL]]; [[Yzerfontein]], [[South Africa|ZA]]-[[Western Cape|WC]]; [[Mtunzini]], [[South Africa|ZA]]-[[KwaZulu-Natal|NL]] || SAEx International Ltd. (SimplCom South Africa)
|-
|-
| [[SACS (cable system)|SACS]] || Q3 2018 || 6,165 km || [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Luanda]], [[Angola|AO]] || [[Angola Cables]]
| [[SACS (cable system)|SACS]] || Q3 2018 || 6,165 km || [[Fortaleza]], [[Brazil|BR]]-[[Ceará|CE]]; [[Luanda]], [[Angola|AO]] || [[Angola Cables]]
Line 241: Line 242:
*{{cite journal|first=Jeremiah|last=Hayes|title=A history of transatlantic cables|journal=IEEE Communications|date=September 2008|volume=46|issue=9|pages=42–48|doi=10.1109/MCOM.2008.4623705}}
*{{cite journal|first=Jeremiah|last=Hayes|title=A history of transatlantic cables|journal=IEEE Communications|date=September 2008|volume=46|issue=9|pages=42–48|doi=10.1109/MCOM.2008.4623705}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130724101651/http://aronsson.se/hist.html Aronsson's Telecom History Timeline]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130724101651/http://aronsson.se/hist.html Aronsson's Telecom History Timeline]
*[http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Cables/CableTimeLine/index.htm Timeline of Submarine Communications Cables, 1850–2016]
*[http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Cables/CableTimeLine/index.htm Timeline of Submarine Communications Cables, 1850–2024]
*[http://www.kidorf.com/DBLandings.php Submarine Cable Landings Worldwide]
*[http://www.kidorf.com/DBLandings.php Submarine Cable Landings Worldwide]


{{Transatlantic telephone cables}}
{{Transatlantic telephone cables}}
{{Submarine communications cables in the Atlantic Ocean}}
{{Telecommunications}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Transatlantic Telephone Cable}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transatlantic Telephone Cable}}

Latest revision as of 20:57, 5 November 2024

Cable laying in the 1860s

A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable connecting one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, coaxial cable came into use, with amplifiers. Late in the 20th century, all cables installed use optical fiber as well as optical amplifiers, because distances range thousands of kilometers.

History

[edit]

When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858 by Cyrus West Field, it operated for only three weeks; a subsequent attempt in 1866 was more successful.[citation needed] On July 13, 1866 the cable laying ship Great Eastern sailed out of Valentia Island, Ireland and on July 27 landed at Heart's Content in Newfoundland, completing the first lasting connection across the Atlantic. It was active until 1965.[1]

Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s,[2] to be practical it needed a number of technological advances which did not arrive until the 1940s.[citation needed] Starting in 1927, transatlantic telephone service was radio-based.[3]

TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) was the first transatlantic telephone cable system. It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban, and Clarenville, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956 by the cable ship Monarch.[4] It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956, initially carrying 36 telephone channels. In the first 24 hours of public service, there were 588 London–U.S. calls and 119 from London to Canada. The capacity of the cable was soon increased to 48 channels. Later, an additional three channels were added by use of C Carrier equipment. Time-assignment speech interpolation (TASI) was implemented on the TAT-1 cable in June 1960 and effectively increased the cable's capacity from 37 (out of 51 available channels) to 72 speech circuits. TAT-1 was finally retired in 1978. Later coaxial cables, installed through the 1970s, used transistors and had higher bandwidth. The Moscow–Washington hotline was initially connected through this system.

Current technology

[edit]

All cables presently in service use fiber optic technology. Many cables terminate in Newfoundland and Ireland, which lie on the great circle route from London, UK to New York City, US.

There has been a succession of newer transatlantic cable systems. All recent systems have used fiber optic transmission, and a self-healing ring topology. Late in the 20th century, communications satellites lost most of their North Atlantic telephone traffic to these low-cost, high-capacity, low-latency cables. This advantage only increases over time, as tighter cables provide higher bandwidth – the 2012 generation of cables drop the transatlantic latency to under 60 milliseconds, according to Hibernia Atlantic, deploying such a cable that year.[5][6]

Some new cables are being announced on the South Atlantic: SACS (South Atlantic Cable System)[7] and SAex (South Atlantic Express).[8]

TAT cable routes

[edit]

The TAT series of cables constitute a large percentage of all North Atlantic cables. All TAT cables are joint ventures between a number of telecommunications companies, e.g. British Telecom. CANTAT cables terminate in Canada rather than in the US.

Name In service Type Initial channels Final channels Western end Eastern end
TAT-1 1956–1978 Galvanic 36 51 Newfoundland Scotland
TAT-2 1959–1982 Galvanic 48 72 Newfoundland France
TAT-3 1963–1986 Galvanic 138 276 New Jersey England
TAT-4 1965–1987 Galvanic 138 345 New Jersey France
TAT-5 1970–1993 Galvanic 845 2,112 Rhode Island Spain
TAT-6 1976–1994 Galvanic 4,000 10,000 Rhode Island France
TAT-7 1978–1994 Galvanic 4,000 10,500 New Jersey England
TAT-8 1988–2002 Fiber-optic 40,000 – New Jersey England, France
TAT-9 1992–2004 Fiber-optic 80,000 – New Jersey, Nova Scotia Spain, France, England
TAT-10 1992–2003 Fiber-optic 2 × 565 Mbit/s – US Germany, Netherlands
TAT-11 1993–2003 Fiber-optic 2 × 565 Mbit/s – New Jersey France
TAT-12/13 1996–2008 Fiber-optic 12 × 2.5 Gbit/s – US × 2 England, France
TAT-14 2001–2020 Fiber-optic 3.2 Tbit/s – New Jersey × 2 England, France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark
CANTAT-1 1961–1986 Galvanic 80 – Newfoundland Scotland
CANTAT-2 1974–1992 Galvanic 1,840 – Nova Scotia England
CANTAT-3 1994–2010 Fiber-optic 2 × 2.5 Gbit/s Nova Scotia Iceland, Faroe Islands, England, Denmark, Germany
PTAT-1 1989–2004 Fiber-optic 3 × 140 Mbit/s? New Jersey & Bermuda Ireland & England

Private cable routes

[edit]

There are a number of private non-TAT cables.

Cable name Ready for service Cable length (km) Nominal capacity Latency (ms) Landing points Owner
Gemini (decommissioned) May 1998 under 100 ms north: Charlestown, US-RI; Oxwich Bay, GB-WLS; south: Manasquan, US-NJ; Porthcurno, GB-ENG Vodafone (originally Cable & Wireless)
AC-1 May 1998 14,301 km 120 Gbit/s 65 ms[6] Brookhaven, US-NY; Whitesands Bay, GB-ENG; Beverwijk, NL-NH; Sylt, DE-SH Lumen Technologies (originally Global Crossing)
Columbus III December 1999 9,833 km Hollywood, US-FL; Ponta Delgada (Azores), PT; Carcavelos, PT; Conil de la Frontera, ES-AN; Mazara del Vallo (Sicily), IT various telecom operators
Yellow/AC-2 September 2000 7,001 km 640 Gbit/s under 100 ms Bellport, US-NY; Bude, GB-ENG Lumen Technologies
Hibernia Atlantic April 2001 12,200 km 320 Gbit/s, upgraded to 10.16 Tbit/s[9] 59 ms[6] Lynn, US-MA; Herring Cove, CA-NS; Dublin, IE-L; Southport, GB-ENG; Coleraine, GB-NIR GTT Communications, Inc. (originally Hibernia Networks)
FLAG Atlantic June 2001 14,500 km under 100 ms Island Park, US-NY; Plerin, FR-BRE; Skewjack, GB-ENG; Northport, US-NY Global Cloud Xchange (Reliance Communications)
Tata TGN-Atlantic June 2001 13,000 km 5.1 Tbit/s under 100 ms Wall Township, US-NJ; Highbridge, GB-ENG Sold by Tyco to Tata Communications in 2005
Apollo February 2003 13,000 km 3.2 Tbit/s under 100 ms Manasquan, New Jersey, US-NJ; Lannion, FR-BRE; Bude, GB-ENG; Shirley, US-NY Vodafone (originally Cable & Wireless)[10]
Greenland Connect March 2009 4,780 km Milton, CA-NL; Aasiaat, GL-QA; Sisimiut, GL-QE; Maniitsoq, GL-QE; Nuuk, GL-SM; Qaqortoq, GL-KU; Landeyjar, IS TELE Greenland
Hibernia Express September 2015 4,600 km Halifax, CA-NS; Cork, IE-M; Brean, GB-ENG GTT Communications, Inc. (originally Hibernia Networks)
AEConnect (AEC-1) January 2016 5,522 km 4 × 10 Tbit/s (four strand 100 × 100 Gbit/s) 54 ms Shirley, US-NY; Killala, IE-C Aqua Comms
MAREA February 2018 6,600 km 160 Tbit/s Virginia Beach, US-VA; Bilbao, ES-PV Facebook (25 %), Microsoft (25 %), Telefónica (50 %)
Midgardsormen Q2 2019 (planned) 7,848 km Virginia Beach, US-VA; Blaabjerg, DK; Mo i Rana, NO Midgardsormen
Dunant September 2020 (live) 6,400km 250 Tbit/s Virginia Beach, US-VA; Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, FR Google[11][12]
Havfrue, including America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) branch December 2020 7,851km 108 Tbit/s New Jersey, US; Dublin, RoI; London, UK; Amsterdam, NL; Blaabjerg, DK; Kristiansand, NO AquaCommms, Bulk Infrastructure, Facebook and Google[13]
Grace Hopper September 2022 6,000km 352 Tbit/s New York, US; Bude, UK; Bilbao, Spain Google[14][15]
Amitié July 2023 6,600km 320 Tbit/s Lynn, Massachusetts, US; Bude, UK; Le Porge, France A consortium comprising Facebook, Microsoft, Aqua Comms, Vodafone (through Cable & Wireless Americas Systems), Orange[16]

South Atlantic cable routes

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Cable name Ready for service Length Landing points Owner
Atlantis-2 February 2000 8,500 km Carcavelos, PT; El Médano, ES-CN; Praia, CV; Dakar, SN; Fortaleza, BR-CE; Las Toninas, AR-B various telecom operators
EllaLink Q2 2021 5,900 km Sines, PT; Fortaleza, BR-CE; Santos, BR-SP Telebras, IslaLink
SACS Q3 2018 6,165 km Fortaleza, BR-CE; Luanda, AO Angola Cables
SAIL Q4 2018 5,900 km Fortaleza, BR-CE; Kribi, CM Camtel, China Unicom

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Guarnieri, M. (March 2014). "The Conquest of the Atlantic". IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine. 8 (1): 53–55/67. doi:10.1109/MIE.2014.2299492.
  2. ^ Elmore, Bart. "January 2017: From the Transatlantic Telephone to the iPhone". Origins. Ohio State University. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Short-Wave System for Transatlantic Telephony, by Polkinghorn and Schlaack BSTJ, 1935
  4. ^ "Being First Telephone Cable to Connect Hemispheres". Popular Mechanics, March 1954, p. 114.
  5. ^ "Building Networks for High-Speed Stock Trading - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. October 9, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "The $300m cable that will save traders milliseconds". The Daily Telegraph. London. September 11, 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  7. ^ "Angola Cables to build the world's first submarine cable across the South Atlantic: Press Releases - NEC".
  8. ^ "16Tbit/s SAEx cable deal signed".
  9. ^ "Hibernia Offers Cross-Atlantic 40G". Light Reading. August 13, 2009.
  10. ^ "Submarine Cable Actions Taken PN". FCC. October 4, 2012.
  11. ^ Sawers, Paul (April 24, 2019). "How Google is building its huge subsea cable infrastructure". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Li, Abner (April 5, 2019). "Google's Dunant trans-Atlantic cable will deliver record-breaking capacity w/ first use of SDM tech". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox (January 16, 2018). "Aqua Comms plans Havfrue, transatlantic cable network funded by Facebook, Google". Data Center Dynamics.
  14. ^ Koley, Vikash (July 28, 2020). "Announcing the Grace Hopper subsea cable, linking the U.S., U.K. and Spain". Google Cloud.
  15. ^ Lardinois, Frederick (July 28, 2020). "Google is building a new private subsea cable between Europe and the US". TechCrunch.
  16. ^ "Orange landing the transatlantic Amitié cable". TotalTele. February 8, 2021.
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