All the way back to the early days of the cable industry in the 1800s, it was easier and safer to lay a cable along the coast of undeveloped countries than to t

All the way back to the early days of the cable industry in the 1800s, it was easier and safer to lay a cable along the coast of undeveloped countries than to try and run a landline on poles across rugged terrain. Both coasts of Central and South America had telegraph cables running down them, with spurs for inland connections. Same with Africa. Here's a map on my cable history website showing the network in 1902: https://atlantic-cable.com/Maps/1901-Berne-Map-BPL-Leventhal.jpg https://atlantic-cable.com/Maps/1901-Berne-Map-BPL-Leventhal...