In 1858, the first transatlantic telegraph message was sent via submarine cable, carrying a 98-word congratulatory note from Queen Victoria of Britain to U.S. President James Buchanan, taking over 16 hours to arrive. Since then, the importance of submarine cables has grown exponentially.
According to the International Cable Protection Committee, today a single fiber in modern submarine cables can transmit data equivalent to approximately 150 million simultaneous phone calls at the speed of light.
The act of sabotaging underwater communication cables dates back nearly two centuries to 1850, when the first telegraph cable was laid across the English Channel. At the outset of World War I, Britain severed Germany's key telegraph cables, cutting off communications with its military forces.
Most modern cable damage causes minimal disruption, as operators can quickly reroute traffic to other parts of the global submarine network. However, given the world's near-total dependence on these cables for data transmission, any large-scale damage today would have far greater consequences than in the telegraph era.
Experts say Iran’s ongoing war could also severely impact cable repair efforts, as repair vessels must remain stationary for extended periods while fixing faults. Even more challenging, according to Moulding, only one of the five repair ships typically operating in the region remains in the Persian Gulf.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866035621351433/
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