Underwater Cables Carry 97 Percent of Intercontinental Data
A deep ocean floor view showing a thin fiber optic cable stretching into the dark abyss with faint data light pulses traveling through it
Nearly all international internet traffic travels through a network of roughly 550 submarine fiber optic cables laid across ocean floors. These cables, some thinner than a garden hose, carry everything from emails to financial transactions between continents.
Why Itβs Interesting
Despite the existence of satellites, the physical internet is overwhelmingly submarine. Sharks occasionally bite the cables, anchors damage them, and their routes are closely guarded national security secrets. The entire modern digital economy hangs on glass threads at the bottom of the ocean.
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