Transatlantic communications cable

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  (Redirected from Transatlantic telephone cable)
A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable connecting one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other.

History[edit]

When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858 by businessman Cyrus West Field, it operated for only three weeks; subsequent attempts in 1865 and 1866 were more successful.[1] Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s[citation needed], 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.[2]
TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) was the first transatlantic telephone cable system. It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban, Scotland and Clarenville, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956 by the cable ship Monarch.[3] 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. TAT-1 was finally retired in 1978. Later coaxial cables, installed through the 1970s, used transistors and had higher bandwidth.

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 (the shortest route) from London, UK to New York City, USA.
There have 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 speed – the 2012 generation of cables drop the transatlantic latency to under 60 milliseconds, according to Hibernia Atlantic, deploying such a cable that year.[4][5]
Some new cables are being announced on the South Atlantic: SACS(South Atlantic Cable System)[6] and SAex(South Atlantic Express) [7]

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 USA.
NameIn serviceTypeInitial channelsFinal channelsWestern endEastern end
TAT-11956–1978Galvanic3648NewfoundlandUnited Kingdom
TAT-21959–1982Galvanic4872NewfoundlandFrance
TAT-31963–1986Galvanic138276New JerseyUnited Kingdom
TAT-41965–1987Galvanic138345New JerseyFrance
TAT-51970–1993Galvanic8452,112Rhode IslandSpain
TAT-61976–1994Galvanic4,00010,000Rhode IslandFrance
TAT-71978–1994Galvanic4,00010,500New JerseyUnited Kingdom
TAT-81988–2002Fiber-optic40,000–USAUnited Kingdom, France
TAT-91992–2004Fiber-optic80,000–USA, Nova ScotiaSpain, France, United Kingdom
TAT-101992–2003Fiber-optic2 × 565 Mbit/s–USAGermany, Netherlands
TAT-111993–2003Fiber-optic2 × 565 Mbit/s–USAFrance
TAT-12/131996–2008Fiber-optic12 × 2.5 Gbit/s–USA × 2United Kingdom, France
TAT-142001–Fiber-optic3.2 Tbit/s–USA × 2United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark
CANTAT-11961–1986Galvanic80–NewfoundlandUnited Kingdom
CANTAT-21974–1992Galvanic1,840–Nova ScotiaUnited Kingdom
CANTAT-31994–2010Fiber-optic2 × 2.5 Gbit/sNova ScotiaIceland, Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany
PTAT-11989–2004Fiber-optic3 × 140 Mbit/s?New Jersey & BermudaIreland & United Kingdom

Private cable routes[edit]

There are a number of private non-TAT cables.
Cable nameDate(s)Nominal capacityLatency (ms)LandingsOwner
Gemini (decommissioned)1998Under 100 msVodafone (originally Cable & Wireless)
Apollo20023.2 Tbit/sUnder 100 msVodafone/Alcatel-Lucent (originally Cable & Wireless)[8]
AC-11998120 Gbit/s65 ms[5]Level 3 Communications (originally Global Crossing)
Yellow/AC-22000640 Gbit/sUnder 100 msLevel 3 Communications
FLAG Atlantic2000Under 100 msReliance Communications
VSNL Transatlantic20015.1 Tbit/sUnder 100 msSold by Tyco to VSNL in 2005
Hibernia Atlantic2001320 Gbit/s, upgraded to 10.16 Tbit/s[9]Under 70 msCVC Acquisition Company
Emerald Express2014 (scheduled)[10]4 × 10 Tbit/s (four strand 100 × 100 Gbit/s)54 msMoncton; St. John's; Grindavík, Iceland; Belfast; Dublin; Shirley, New YorkEmerald Atlantis
Hibernia Atlantic2012Unknown (four strand)59 ms[5]Herring Cove (near Halifax, Canada)CVC Acquisition Company

South Atlantic cable routes[edit]

Cable nameDate(s)LandingOwner
SACS2016Luanda; FortalezaAngola Cables
SAex2017Mtunzini; Yzerfontein; Saint Helena; FortalezaSimplCom South Africa

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ Short-Wave System for Transatlantic Telephony, by Polkinghorn and Schlaack BSTJ, 1935
  3. Jump up ^ "Being First Telephone Cable to Connect Hemispheres" Popular Mechanics, March 1954, p. 114.
  4. Jump up ^ "Building Networks for High-Speed Stock Trading - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. October 9, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The $300m cable that will save traders milliseconds". The Daily Telegraph (London). September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  6. Jump up ^ http://www.nec.com/en/press/201411/global_20141104_04.html
  7. Jump up ^ http://www.techcentral.co.za/16tbits-saex-cable-deal-signed/35811/
  8. Jump up ^ "Submarine Cable Actions Taken PN". FCC. October 4, 2012.
  9. Jump up ^ "Hibernia Offers Cross-Atlantic 40G". Light Reading. August 13, 2009.
  10. Jump up ^ "About Us | Emerald Networks". Emerald Networks. February 14, 2013.

External links[edit]