ponytug
Super Member
You are right about the global importance of fiber for data. The lag time on satellites make it unlikely, especially for geosynchronous communication satellites, as does the cost. Latency, i.e. ping times, is important for many applications and uses.Y'all have to read this article. You think worldwide internet travels by satellite? This is a story, a long, detailed and well written story about the companies that fix underwater cables across the world. Satellite internet is NOT the heavy hauler of data that keeps everything going. I should Capitalize EVERYTHING. Maybe one day things will change over to satellite but not anytime soon. Undersea cables are still the mainstay.
As many think Mr Elon is a jerk, he is/was definitely forward looking. Again. Read the article:
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat
How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.www.theverge.com
The light in the fibers need to be amplified every couple of miles, so there are amplifiers underwater along the length of the fiber. Subsea fiber cables, and amplifiers are a fascinating bit of technology and engineering, largely made possible by a small number of people who created solid state laser that could be put in amplifiers that could be dropped to the bottom of the ocean. It is an unseen world.
You have to coil the whole run of fiber, hundreds to thousands of miles, in the ship; the three tanks in blue above.
Much of the backbone fiber in the US runs along railways; low impact, and continuous right of ways made it easy.
All the best,
Peter
