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When we send an email or stream a video from across the globe , we often imagine the data travelling through satellites in space . In reality , the backbone of the global internet lies at the bottom of the ocean . More than a million kilometres of subsea fiber optic cables currently connect every continent except Antarctica . The technology relies on transmitting data as pulses of light through strands of glass scarcely thicker than a human hair . What these delicate fibers require most is protection from the harsh marine environment . To achieve this , manufacturers encase them in layers of steel wire , copper tubing , and robust polymer sheathing . Laying these cables across ocean basins is a complex maritime operation . Specialised cable - laying ships slowly traverse the sea , spooling the heavy line out from massive holds . Rarely does a vessel lay more than a couple of hundred kilometres in a single day , given the precision required . Once resting on the seabed , the cables face numerous physical threats . While many people assume shark bites are a primary danger , the true hazards are commercial fishing trawlers and dragging ship anchors . Operators ought to bury the cables near the shorelines , and few dare to leave shallow - water segments exposed . When a cable does break , the repair process is both urgent and expensive . A repair ship must locate the fault , grapple the severed ends from the ocean floor , and splice them back together on deck . If operators could rely entirely on automated underwater drones for this , they would , but the intricate splicing still demands human hands . As global data consumption continues to grow , telecommunications companies are investing heavily in new routes . Modern cables boast capacities exceeding 200 terabits per second , far surpassing the limits of earlier generations . It was this exponential demand for bandwidth that drove the recent boom in private cable construction by tech giants . These underwater data highways remain largely invisible to the public , yet modern society depends entirely upon them . Very few infrastructure systems are as critical to daily life . Have you ever thought about how your international internet traffic is routed ? Does the fragility of this subsea network concern you ?
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