Trans-atlantic communication cable picture

[SatinKzo]

part of a series of pics on wired was this pic of the trans-atlantic communication cables. The other pics in the series are interested, but I like the photographers comment about the pic

Photographer Taryn Simon Shoots America's Best-Kept Secrets

 

[Van]

It took me a moment but I thought that was a fiberglass ladder and some poor atempt at industrial art. I remember seeing a pic of an old undersea phone line trunk and the thing was as thick as Roseannes thigh.

 

[thecristman]

I thought most if not all communications across the ocean are handled by satellite?

 

[Bobby]

If all of trans-oceanic communications were via satellite there could be a global communication shut down caused by the sun, hardware or software malfunction, or warfare. Redundancy is very important. That is why there continues to be land line backup.

 

[hbk409]

i liked the brail playboy, never knew that exsisted

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[stevenl]

It took me a moment but I thought that was a fiberglass ladder and some poor atempt at industrial art. I remember seeing a pic of an old undersea phone line trunk and the thing was as thick as Roseannes thigh.

Thats impossible, nothing man made can get that big.

 

[TuxCoder]

i liked the brail playboy, never knew that exsisted

Then you haven't seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

 

[navychop]

I thought most if not all communications across the ocean are handled by satellite?

Voice comms are mostly terrestrial. The time lag up to a satellite in geo orbit and back is something like a quarter second. Just enough to be annoying.

 

[Bogy]

Voice comms are mostly terrestrial. The time lag up to a satellite in geo orbit and back is something like a quarter second. Just enough to be annoying.

A quarter second? The time lag calling my daughter in Kenya, on her cell phone, is more like 3 seconds.