Video: The world is wrapped in nearly 900,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable. Each strand of glass fibre carries terabits of data around the planet daily, making up the vast majority of internet traffic.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/water-got-in-tasmanias-basslink-cable-repairs-wont-be-finished-until-mid-june/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/shutterstock_246299293_1080_2-410×231.jpg” title=”’Water Got In’: Tasmania’s Basslink Cable Repairs Won’t Finish Til June” excerpt=”With Tasmania’s internet still operating at much-reduced capacity, all eyes have been on Basslink to find the fault in the main undersea cable connecting the island to the Australian mainland. That problem has now been found, but full repairs are almost three months away from completion.”]
As you can see towards the end of the video, Australia’s geographic isolation means we get a pretty raw deal when it comes to the number of undersea cables reaching our doorsteps. Understandable, though, considering it costs hundreds of millions of dollars to lay one of these bad boys. [YouTube]