The internet's backbone lies beneath the ocean
Nearly all international data travels through a vast network of undersea fiber optic cables rather than satellites, utilizing hair-thin glass strands to power global communication with minimal latency.
Physical fiber optic cables resting on the seabed carry nearly all transoceanic internet traffic, rendering satellite transmission a secondary niche. While the public often associates global connectivity with space-based signals, the modern internet relies on over 1.4 million kilometers of glass strands no thicker than a human hair. These cables, such as the 6,600-kilometer Marea cable funded by Microsoft and Meta, utilize dense wavelength division multiplexing to transmit up to 224 terabits per second.
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