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internet infrastructure

Guardian

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What lies beneath: the growing threat to the hidden network of cables that power the internet

Summary

Nutrition label

71% Informative

Almost all internet traffic including calls, movie streams, emails and social media feeds reach us via high speed fibre optics laid on the ocean floor.

These are the veins of the modern world, stretching almost 1.5 million km under the sea, connecting countries via physical cables which funnel the internet through them.

A Russian attack on undersea cables would cause “significant damage to our economy and to our everyday lives,” a member of the US armed services committee said at the time.

A US report on this issue showed that the major threats to the network are “accidental incidents involving humans” As of 2023 there were more than 500 communications cables at the bottom of the ocean.

The unequal spread of cables is clearest in the Pacific , where a territory like Guam , with a population of just 170,000 , has more than 10 internet cables connecting to the island.

VR Score

Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

semi-formal

Language

English

Language complexity

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful