Bring the Net to the Masses

Good Afternoon All,

Today we are going to talk about something that everyone uses but not to many of us know how it gets to us, the Internet. I am not referring to how it gets from your ISP to you, but more along the lines of how true the term "World Wide Web" really is and how you can play Call of Duty or Battlefield with your friends across the pond. This is accomplished by using fiber optic cables that travel under the oceans and satellite transmissions that travel through space.

Fiber optic cables in their current iteration are "relatively new" technology, even though they have been around for a while now. They encode communication signals/transmissions in the form of light and are decoded on the other end back into there original format. The individual channels are made of a flexible glass or plastic optical fibers (glass passes better signal but plastic is more durable) that transmit at the speed of light in glass, which is slower that the ACTUAL speed of light in a vacuum. The underwater fiber cables are specially call Submarine Communication Cables (SCCs) and are made in an 8 layer design to protect the optical fibers at the center, which weigh about 7 lbs per foot. These cables, as of this year, carry 99% of all the data traffic around the world. There are major junction points all around the world, with SCCs  (sometimes) terminating at small island chains like American Samoa and French Polynesia and other times bouncing up and down the coast of the continents.

Interactive Map of Fiber Cables

There are a number of SCCs that are planned to create more junction points and will allow even faster internet traffic around the world. Unfortunately these aren't without peril. With these being physical lines that travel the ocean floor they are vulnerable to attack during wartime and terrorist actions. Back in 2008 this is exactly what happened. It is theorized that this was done to cut off the internet to the Middle East, even though it was largely unsuccessful as the cable system uses the aforementioned junction points to reroute it. This caused a sluggish internet response time, but the rest of the world went unaffected for the most part.

Cable Cuttings in 2008

Another way for internet to travel to us is satellites. Two major carriers for satellite internet are Globalstar and Iridium and they have pretty much cornered the market. Satellite communications are traditionally much slower than any other method due to high latency as the signal is bounced 4 times, once to the satellite in question, the to the ISP, then back to the satellite and finally back to your computing device. Satellite does have one advantage that no other method has, it can be broadcasted virtually anywhere in the world including the Antarctic research facilities. This allows for sluggish but reliable internet to be sent to rural and remote areas. Another good thing is that this same technology allows the passing of telephone signals anywhere in the world as well, remember that next time you decide to go hiking in Patagonia or Himalayas, it could save your life.

Reasons Satellite Internet is Slow

Even this isn't without its pitfalls. Satellite has a much more ominous enemy than human beings, it has space. In the "not really so empty" vacuum of space, satellites have to contend with debris and collisions from rogue satellites, this does happen by the way, but the Sun (Sol) is its real enemy. Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can wreck havoc with the internal mechanics or the sensitive external satellite relays. This can also have a effect on power systems on the ground, which guidance systems control the satellites and the ISP's systems in general.

Coronal Mass Ejections and Satellites 

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
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