This thing looks like a mixture of Christmas tree and CD stand. Usually it is in a thick rubber case in a shaft under road. In plastic containers that are removed to remind CD boxes, thin, coloured cables lead. Inside, thinner than a human hair: glass fibres. What skilled workers have brought to daylight on behalf of network provider Colt and on a workbench in ir vans is a kind of synapse of digital world. A switching point in nervous system of digital age.

The nerve fibres of modern world lie in pipes in Earth, and y lie, shead by protective layers, on seabed. Although so unbelievable thin, you can transmit almost incredible amounts of data. This is because this technique is used to work with light pulses from lasers. So re are photons through thin fibres, not electrons as in copper cables.

The new cable can transmit 71 million HD videos in parallel

What is possible today is demonstrated by project of Microsoft, Facebook and Telefónica subsidiary Telxius. Marea, Spanish for Tides, is most powerful cable in world. It runs from north-Spanish Bilbao to Virginia Beach in U.S. state of Virginia. Marea can transmit up to 160 Terabit of data per second. That would be enough to send 71 million HD videos at same time across large pond. And it is to be assumed that this is far from end. For fiber optic cables, efficiency depends very much on technology used at end points. Therefore, capacity of existing lines can often be increased subsequently.

But why are such powerful lines necessary? The answer is quite simple: without glass fibres, networked world of today would not be possible. More than 430 active fiber optic cables are located in world's oceans, and new are constantly coming. In past, telecommunication companies, which laid out such cables and subsequently rented m, are becoming increasingly active today as well. For m, first of all, it is of paramount importance for users to be able to access ir offers with fewest possible waiting times.

Those who cut through se cables will put world in a lame Almost all data between continents flows through fiber optic cables on seabed. There is a nodal point on west coast of England. Visiting a secret place. by Björn Finke more...

Secondly, new lines, for example to Africa, also help to bring world areas to network and thus to ir own services, which so far only have a bad connection to Internet. Many experts expect that in areas where re are only a few landline connections, Internet will be distributed wirelessly. But in order to bridge large distances, especially intercontinental, cable is indispensable. Only a small part of worldwide communication is being handled by satellites. Although cable is not cheap, it is considerably cheaper than artificial celestial bodies and less susceptible to interference.

Which does not mean that something cannot go wrong. It even does it all same. Sometimes a shark bites into pipe, n a fish trawler with his trawl of a broken, or in harbor device one in a ship screw. Of course, cable companies do a lot to avoid this. For example, shipping companies and fishing companies receive cards on which cables are drawn. However, it happens again and again that a cable rips or is scoured by current on rocky ground.

Then repair squads have to move out and mend cable again. Since cables are far down, but can only be repaired on surface, a piece of cable must be used, which is n stored as a loop on seabed. On high seas, cables are not particularly thick, only about one and a half times as thick as a garden hose. In shore, however, y are more protected, last piece y are even buried to avoid damage.

Splicing

In order to connect two glass fibres to each or, to splice, as is called in jargon, protective plastic sheathing must first be removed. The fibre is n broken as smoothly as possible with a special device. The two fibres are now clamped into anor special device. This has optical sensors and motors that precisely align two fibers and n weld m by laser. The more precisely this happens, less loss is seam point in overall line. Once a line is switched on, a lot can not happen. Glass fibres are immune to interference from or cables and against water. Only when an excavator rips a cable will re be a problem. Then two new cable shafts must be dug before and after breaking point and all fibres can be re-connected individually. Helmut Martin-Jung

Just because it is never ruled out that a cable fails, it is important that re are redundant connections. The impetus for cable Marea also came from an experience that had been made 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane, which had hit east coast relatively far north, briefly paralysed important transatlantic connections. While internet is similar to such interruptions, this ability was original reason to develop it. But detours cost time, time companies do not have.

Fiber optic cables are insensitive to interference from power lines

However, fiber optic cables are not only important for intercontinental connections. Even when it comes to linking two company locations, for example, y are often technique of choice. The network providers such as colt have cables in many places that are already in ground. They usually have between twelve and 288 fibers, mostly it's 144. The cables are usually in plastic pipes with 110 millimeters in diameter, in some cases thinner, so-called subducts in thick pipes. Fiber optic cables are insensitive to faults such as power lines. Water doesn't matter to you, eir. It is not allowed to bend too strongly, and y must not be subjected to excessive pressure, such as in a too full shaft.

Orwise, if splicing is done professionally, glass fibres offer best possible throughput. For companies that have ir own management, connection is as if colleague was not sitting at anor location hundreds of kilometres away, but in room next door. In particular, companies that want to avoid use of public Internet for transfer of ir data between sites are offered for security reasons. But glass fibres are actually so powerful that many users can share a line. The terminals provide each individual data stream with an encoding, which only corresponding counterpart can decipher again.

The world's fastest submarine cable is misplaced interruptions in traffic can no longer be afforded. Corporations like Microsoft and Facebook are building Internet under Atlantic itself. By Helmut Martin-Jung more... Date Of Update: 04 October 2017, 12:13