Illustrating Submarine Internet Infrastructure
In early 2024, TeleGeography, a U.S.-based telecommunications market research and consulting firm, unveiled an interactive visualization of nearly 500 active and planned undersea Internet cables worldwide. The visualization offers a detailed view of the location of these cables, their routes, and the countries they connect, but does not provide information about the companies or organizations involved in their laying, the cost or funding sources, or the potential impact on global communication networks.
As of 2021, the visualization mapped 464 active global cables, with at least 19 new planned cables recently added to the map. This indicates continued significant growth in the global submarine cable network, with the total cable system length exceeding 1.5 million kilometers, spanning roughly 450+ cable systems (though the count varies with new deployments).
The longest undersea Internet cable, spanning 39,000 kilometers, connects Perth, Australia to Geoje, South Korea and Goonhilly Downs, United Kingdom. The visualization does not specify the number of cables that are active and the number that are planned, but it does show their locations and routes.
With the expansion of the global undersea cable network, it's clear that the world is increasingly interconnected, with data and communication flowing seamlessly across vast distances. However, the visualization does not delve into the speed or capacity of these cables, leaving some questions about their performance unanswered.
Despite these gaps, the interactive visualization provides a valuable resource for understanding the geography of the undersea Internet cable network. To access the visualization, visit TeleGeography's website.
Researchers in data-and-cloud-computing can utilize this comprehensive visualization to analyze and forecast the impact of new undersea Internet cables on global technology infrastructure. Further technological advancements in cloud computing could potentially optimize the performance of these cables.
