As the digital age dawns upon us and the internet becomes all-pervasive, a key enabler of this transformational change remains hidden from our eyes. Meshes of fibreoptic cables - thin strands of pure glass - buried in the seabed and or laid underneath streets, buildings, etc., come together to form data superhighways, carrying over 95% of global telecoms traffic. Presently, there are approximately 486 active or under-construction subsea cables with over 1300 landings. They stretch more than a million kilometres. Their terrestrial counterparts span even longer distances. Optical fibres are the internet's 'backbone' and facilitate critical communications between computers, devices and people. From covering only a few meters in data centres to thousands of kilometres across oceans and continents, the intricate web that fibre optical cables weave is astounding. However, this is just the beginning, as experts noted. Subsea and terrestrial cables are taking on a new responsibility never imagined before.
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