Who Owns The Internet Cables Beneath The Ocean? The Answer Will Surprise You | World News

New Delhi: The Internet is an integral part of life in this modern world. Social media access, Youtube and OTT platforms, video talks, online shopping and office works are constantly relying on a digital connection. Many assume that the Internet comes first from satellites or mobile towers. However, the truth is that about 99 percent of global internet traffic passes through the cables placed under the oceans. The data flows below, not from the depths of the seas.

Submarine optical fiber cables, continents and countries reliably combine more than thousands of kilometers to form the backbone of the internet. These cables carry a lot of data on every second that connects businesses, governments and households around the world. But who is actually the owner of these big networks stretched under the oceans?

A short history of submarine internet cables

The story of internet cables dates back to the 1830s with the invention of the telegram. Even then, the only way to transmit messages at long distances was cable communication. In 1858, American entrepreneur Cyrus Westfield threw his first telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean to connect the United States and England.

Although the cable failed soon, it made a historical start. By 1866, the first permanent submarine cable was successfully established. Over time, it began to spread the world from telegraph to phone and ultimately internet data.

Today, submarine cables reach more than 1.4 million kilometers worldwide. They carry 99 percent of internet traffic, including India’s international data. Approximately 95 percent of India’s international internet traffic passes through this submarine fiber optic cables. The country is linked to 17 international submarine cables connected to the 14 Landing station in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochi, Tuticorin and Thiruvananthapuram.

From these points, the Internet is spreading all over the country that connects India to the global digital network without any problems.

Who owns these ocean internet highways?

Despite their global importance, no government has these cables. Submarine internet cables belong to special telecom and technology companies. These companies have financial resources, technical expertise and infrastructure required to lay, maintain and operate cables to provide uninterrupted internet service on the continents.

In India, companies such as Tata Communications, Reliance Jio, Bhart Airtel, Adjective Technologies and Bsnl manage these submarine cables. Globally, various private companies maintain the backbone of the world’s internet, taking into account the deployment and operation of submarine cables.

Without these networks, the smooth data flow to which modern life was connected would not have been possible.

Next time when you browse on social media or publish a video, remember that a network of carefully preserved fiber optic cables under thousands of kilometers of ocean carries data without fatigue.