The British Contribution to Subsea Telecommunications

After the first international undersea communications cable was laid in 1850 from Dover to Calais the network steadily expanded worldwide, and for over 100 years British companies dominated the supply, installation, and network operations industries. In 1956 a major milestone was reached with the opening of the first telephone cable across the Atlantic, by which time over 1,200 copper cables had been laid.

 With the pace of cable technology rapidly increasing, in 1988 the first fibre optic cable was laid across the Atlantic, and there is now a 1.2 million km network of fibre providing over 99% of the global telecommunications capacity that we all depend on. The ever-increasing bandwidth requirements of social media and e-commerce are driving much of the demand. 

British scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs developed many of the technologies and business models that are the basis of today’s industry, and they still play a leading role in its continued growth. In this two-part lecture the presenters will, in turn, provide overviews of British contributions during the Telegraph and Telephone Eras (1850 – 1986) then the Optical Era (1986 to date).