A look at TAT-8, the first transoceanic fiber-optic cable, which went into service in 1988, was retired in 2002, and is now being pulled up for recycling
History was unmade last year, as engineers began the massive project of ripping the first-ever transoceanic fiber-optic cable from the ocean floor.
Wired Jane Ruffino
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- The first fiber-optic cable ever laid across an ocean — TAT-8, a nearly 6,000-kilometer line between the United States, United Kingdom, and France that carried its first traffic on December 14, 1988 — is now being pulled off the Atlantic seabed after more than two decades of sitting dormant, bound for recycling in South Africa. … @leyrer@23.social · Leyrer
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Discussion
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@wired
@wired
on x
History was unmade last year, as engineers began the massive project of ripping the first-ever transoceanic fiber-optic cable from the ocean floor. Just don't mention sharks. https://www.wired.com/...
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@wired.com
@wired.com
on bluesky
The sharks are innocent. Or at least, they're not eating the internet. The myth is almost as old as the global internet itself. It begins with the development of TAT-8, the first subsea fiber optic cable to cross an ocean.
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@janeruffino
Jane Ruffino
on bluesky
Ever wonder what happens to a cable when it's no longer cabling? Wonder no more! This story has been a joy to write, and I hope I've done everyone in it justice. — I hope the story of the people of infrastructure cleanses your timeline a little. (And I promise it's not about…
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@harmancipants
Reyhan Harmanci
on bluesky
🛠️New package! All week, we are going to be uncorking stories about the obsolete, the out of date, the decommissioned. First up: say goodbye to your little friend, the internet's undersea cables www.wired.com/story/say-go...
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@janeruffino
Jane Ruffino
on bluesky
My question today is: should I try to follow this up with a story about how cables get made? Because that's at least as wild. It's smooshy, fragrant, clangy, and big! — It's so much fun. [embedded post]
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@karrieurbanist
Karrie Jacobs
on bluesky
“But for a shark to actually bite a cable, you'd have to wrap it in fish, much as you'd hide a pill in a hunk of cheese for the dog.” — Best sentence of the day...so far. — www.wired.com/story/say-go...