Transatlantic communications cable

When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858 by Cyrus West Field, it operated for only three weeks; a subsequent attempt in 1866 was more successful.

[1] Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s,[2] to be practical it needed a number of technological advances which did not arrive until the 1940s.

It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban, and Clarenville, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956 by the cable ship Monarch.

Many cables terminate in Newfoundland and Ireland, which lie on the great circle route from London, UK to New York City, US.

Late in the 20th century, communications satellites lost most of their North Atlantic telephone traffic to these low-cost, high-capacity, low-latency cables.

All TAT cables are joint ventures between a number of telecommunications companies, e.g. British Telecom.