• While you may have never heard of TAT-8, there is a good chance you sent some data through it. • TAT-8 was the 8th transatlantic communications cable and the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable, carrying 560 Mbit/s on two fibers between Tuckerton, New Jersey, and, thanks to an underwater splitting device, Widemouth Bay, England, and Penmarch, France. • Construction of the cable began in 1998. • Later that year, the first call, made by [Issac Asimov] took place. • The cable was retired in 2002. • Now,Subsea Environmental Servicesis recovering the cable for recycling.

Article Summaries:

  • TAT‑8, the world’s first transatlantic fiber‑optic cable, ran from New Jersey to England and France between 1998 and 2002, carrying 560 Mbit/s on two 1.3‑µm fibers. Built by a consortium that included AT&T, France Télécom and British Telecom, the 6,000‑km line used repeaters every 40 km and cost roughly $335 million. Although designers expected it to remain underused for a decade, the cable saturated within 18 months. After four decades on the seabed, Subsea Environmental Services is now recovering the cable for recycling, estimating about 10,000 t of material and a potential $10 million scrap value, though operational costs may offset the gain.

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