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Mapping the Internet: Gorgeous interactive map depicts the world’s undersea telecommunication cables

Trevor Mogg
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Truth be told, I don’t usually spend too much time poring over maps of underwater cables, but TeleGeography’s rather beautiful revamped Submarine Cable Map showing the mass of telecommunication cables that criss-cross our deep blue oceans is certainly worth, at the very least, a cursory look.

The detailed map provides a wealth of information, including the locations of 232 in-service and 12 planned undersea cables, all of which help billions of Internet users access web data from across the globe.

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Various insets show other information such as the whereabouts of cable landing sites and a timeline detailing submarine cable history for the last 16 years. At the bottom left of the map another inset shows the amount of bandwidth used by different countries as well as the total cable capacity of the undersea cables by route.

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Country dialing codes and capital city names and locations are also shown on the map.

TeleGeography, a telecommunications market research and consulting firm headquartered in San Diego, said in a blog post announcing the refreshed map that the design was inspired by “antique maps and star charts, and alludes to the historic connection between submarine cables and cartography.”

Now, there’s bound to be a few of you already calling out, “But is it possible to purchase this gorgeous map and hang it on my wall?” Well, if you have a wall and $250, the answer to that question is yes. But if $250 seems a bit steep and you’d rather save it for beer and pizza, you can instead explore an interactive online version of it here.

[via The Verge]

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