1: I think they don't put that thin cable on the seafloor, they are bunched together, in a much bigger cable with a lot of stuff around it [0] to protect it. A

1: I think they don't put that thin cable on the seafloor, they are bunched together, in a much bigger cable with a lot of stuff around it [0] to protect it. About the patching, they say that in the article: they sometimes cut the cable (in case of a bad weather) and attach it to a buoy. So they can "patch it" ;) [0] http://2oqz471sa19h3vbwa53m33yj-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/cable-cross-section.jpg http://2oqz471sa19h3vbwa53m33yj-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-c...