4 ms·

When we're saying incredibly expensive, what are we talking here? $10M repair job?

tim333 7y ago
I googled and found this https://ore.catapult.org.uk/app/uploads/2018/02/Export-Cable-Reliability-Step-1-v7-UPDATE-Jul-17.pdf https://ore.catapult.org.uk/app/uploads/2018/02/Export-Cable... Costs between £5.3m and £15.5m Wikipedia has a nice gif of the repair process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#Cable_repair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable... Funny random thing from that. In 1959 the Americans got annoyed by a Russian trawler breaking their cable and complained they'd broken the Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables of 1884. Who'da thought this was going on in 1884?
- Symbiote 7y ago
  > Who'da thought this was going on in 1884? It's well-known in Britain, at least. It looks to be part of the science examination taken at age 16 [2]. On your Wikipedia page, the section "British dominance of early cable" [1] describes the early success in this technology. Last time I was at the Science Museum in London, they had an exhibition on transatlantic cables. I think it's part of the permanent exhibition. [0] [3] [0] https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/how-perseverance-laid-first-transatlantic-telegraph-cable https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/how-per... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#British_dominance_of_early_cable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable... [2] https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/the-invention-of-morse-code-and-the-first-transatlantic-cable/z47qxyc https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/the-invention-of... (video probably only available in the UK). [3] https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search/gallery/information-age-gallery%3a-cable/museum/science-museum https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search/gallery/infor...
  - samstave 7y ago
    You would probably be interested in looking into the USS Jimmy Carter submarine.... The one the NSA uses to pull up and splice spying equipment into undersea cables....
    - Theodores 7y ago
      They don't do that with most of the cables, the cable just comes ashore and goes into the NSA/GCHQ box and that is it. So I guess that Google have done a deal with the devil already with this, wherever that cable comes ashore will be the mystery room with mystery kit inside, much like what goes on in Sennen in Cornwall. Cable and Wireless operate the cable, it goes to the GCHQ box that then connects with GCHQ in Bude and then on to the doughnut in Cheltenham where the spying for the NSA is done. This is the 'special relationship'. Nobody thinks Google is evil(!) so you have to wonder how much is done as per the 'Glomar Explorer', with the whole thing being a bit of a cover story. The race is on for Africa with the option being Google doing it or the dreaded Huawei doing it, which would really mean getting the USS Jimmy Carter out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer
- cheerlessbog 7y ago
  “Britain's very first action after declaring war on Germany in World War I was to have the cable ship Alert (not the CS Telconia as frequently reported)[12] cut the five cables linking Germany with France, Spain and the Azores, and through them, North America.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cab...
  - adolph 7y ago
    I’d like to read more about the theory behind that decision. There are so many interesting possibilities if the cables were left in place. Also, how did the Zimmerman telegraph happen if Germany to Mexico was cut off? The telegram was sent to the German embassy in the United States for re-transmission to Eckardt in Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram
    - selimthegrim 7y ago
      I believe they had enough wireless stations to get across the Atlantic or they could communicate via diplomatic bag through neutral countries/ones with intact cables
- billfruit 7y ago
  The first transatlantic cable was laid in 1858. I guess the major continents all had been connected before the end of 1800s.

I googled and found this https://ore.catapult.org.uk/app/uploads/2018/02/Export-Cable-Reliability-Step-1-v7-UPDATE-Jul-17.pdf https://ore.catapult.org.uk/app/uploads/2018/02/Export-Cable... Costs between £5.3m and £15.5m Wikipedia has a nice gif of the repair process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#Cable_repair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable... Funny random thing from that. In 1959 the Americans got annoyed by a Russian trawler breaking their cable and complained they'd broken the Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables of 1884. Who'da thought this was going on in 1884?

Symbiote 7y ago
> Who'da thought this was going on in 1884? It's well-known in Britain, at least. It looks to be part of the science examination taken at age 16 [2]. On your Wikipedia page, the section "British dominance of early cable" [1] describes the early success in this technology. Last time I was at the Science Museum in London, they had an exhibition on transatlantic cables. I think it's part of the permanent exhibition. [0] [3] [0] https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/how-perseverance-laid-first-transatlantic-telegraph-cable https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/how-per... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#British_dominance_of_early_cable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable... [2] https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/the-invention-of-morse-code-and-the-first-transatlantic-cable/z47qxyc https://www.bbc.com/teach/class-clips-video/the-invention-of... (video probably only available in the UK). [3] https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search/gallery/information-age-gallery%3a-cable/museum/science-museum https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search/gallery/infor...
- samstave 7y ago
  You would probably be interested in looking into the USS Jimmy Carter submarine.... The one the NSA uses to pull up and splice spying equipment into undersea cables....
  - Theodores 7y ago
    They don't do that with most of the cables, the cable just comes ashore and goes into the NSA/GCHQ box and that is it. So I guess that Google have done a deal with the devil already with this, wherever that cable comes ashore will be the mystery room with mystery kit inside, much like what goes on in Sennen in Cornwall. Cable and Wireless operate the cable, it goes to the GCHQ box that then connects with GCHQ in Bude and then on to the doughnut in Cheltenham where the spying for the NSA is done. This is the 'special relationship'. Nobody thinks Google is evil(!) so you have to wonder how much is done as per the 'Glomar Explorer', with the whole thing being a bit of a cover story. The race is on for Africa with the option being Google doing it or the dreaded Huawei doing it, which would really mean getting the USS Jimmy Carter out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer
cheerlessbog 7y ago
“Britain's very first action after declaring war on Germany in World War I was to have the cable ship Alert (not the CS Telconia as frequently reported)[12] cut the five cables linking Germany with France, Spain and the Azores, and through them, North America.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_communications_cab...
- adolph 7y ago
  I’d like to read more about the theory behind that decision. There are so many interesting possibilities if the cables were left in place. Also, how did the Zimmerman telegraph happen if Germany to Mexico was cut off? The telegram was sent to the German embassy in the United States for re-transmission to Eckardt in Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram
  - selimthegrim 7y ago
    I believe they had enough wireless stations to get across the Atlantic or they could communicate via diplomatic bag through neutral countries/ones with intact cables
billfruit 7y ago
The first transatlantic cable was laid in 1858. I guess the major continents all had been connected before the end of 1800s.