The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods PP060: Subsea Cables and the Watery Risks to Critical Infrastructure
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Apr 29, 2025 Guest Andy Champagne, SVP and CTO of Akamai Labs, shares his extensive tech background to explore the fascinating world of subsea cables. He delves into their critical role in global communication, tracing their evolution from the first transatlantic cable in 1858 to modern fiber optics. The conversation highlights the complexities of installation amid harsh ocean conditions and the advanced technologies that keep them operational. Champagne also discusses the geopolitical implications and security challenges tied to these submerged data highways.
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Subsea Cables Are Critical Infrastructure
- Subsea cables carry 99% of the world's internet traffic and are critical hidden infrastructure.
- They are few in number but vital, spanning hostile ocean environments for global communication.
Ownership and Usage of Cables
- Subsea cables are owned by a mix of government entities and private companies like hyperscalers.
- Companies can purchase fiber pairs or specific wavelengths (waves) within a cable for their use.
First Transatlantic Cable Story
- The first transatlantic cable in 1858 was copper, passive, and used Morse code for telegraphy.
- It took 16 hours to send a message due to signal degradation and was eventually abandoned due to failure.