Communicate without limits, peek into the lives of friends, relatives or work colleagues who live in a distant country or even on another continent. In the age of digital communication , keeping in touch with those who are thousands of miles away from us is very simple. Just send a message on Whatsapp, make a video call or watch the latest Instagram stories.
Until a few years ago, however, it was not all that simple. The digital revolution has disrupted our lives and changed the way we live, relate and even work. The world of work, in fact, has changed rapidly. Today it is unthinkable to work in the same way as thirty years ago.
Yet it has not always been like this. If movable type printing was one of the greatest technological-cultural transformations, the advent of the telegraph was no different. That system of distance communication designed for the transmission of letters, numbers and punctuation marks using certain codes called the telegraph revolutionized the way our ancestors communicated.
But the networks, although extensive, covered only the mainland: communication between continents took place by ship. The telegrams arrived at the post office of the port, were transcribed on paper, transported by sea and telegraphed to the recipient at the port. And the sea journey took weeks.
The first experiment in laying a submarine cable was carried out in 1845 by the firm S.W. Silver & Company in Portsmouth Bay. The cable, one mile long, was insulated with natural rubber. In 1850, the Submarine Telegraph Co company laid the first cable under the English Channel, from Dover to Calais. It remained operational only three days, because it was cut by mistake by a fisherman. In the following years, a network of submarine cables developed between the European and Mediterranean coasts, under the canals, between the islands and under some large rivers. At the same time, the technology of conductors and coatings as well as the know-how in the field of installation and repair were improved. Ships were set up for the repechage and repair of cables.
In Italy , the first submarine cables were the one in collaboration between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1854 that connected Sardinia, Corsica, La Spezia and Algeria and the one between Reggio Calabria and Messina in 1855.
However, a fundamental piece was missing: the connection between Europe and North America via the Atlantic Ocean. This work was an epic, an undertaking of extreme technical-administrative complexity.
Just think of the cable, the kilometers to be manufactured, transported, loaded onto ships and lowered into the sea for weeks. The first attempt was made in 1858 between Ireland and Newfoundland: 2,200 kilometers of cable laid by two ships that set sail, one from Ireland and one from Canada, and met in the ocean. The work was hampered by many difficulties and interrupted several times. The first message between Queen Victoria of England and US President James Buchanan was broadcast, and the cable failed. Then the work continued until July 27, 1866 when a cable 1852 nautical miles long was laid. From that moment on, the Old and New Continents could have spoken to each other. The station broadcast 3,000 messages a day at an average cost of $5 per word and operated until 1965.
Clearly, then, the world has evolved and with it also the means of communication that have become more and more sophisticated. Despite the advent of radio and satellites , however, the submarine cable is still widely used today. In fact, it is precisely the network of submarine cables, spread all over the world, that allows the Internet to function. This is overlooked in the ongoing debate on the continuity of public services and the protection of strategic infrastructures , and in times of emergency it is nevertheless of essential importance for our daily lives, trade and financial exchanges, as well as for the security of our communications. The submarine cable network forms the “backbone” of the global internet, essential for international trade and communications. Submarine cables enable instantaneous communications, carrying approximately 95% of the data and voice traffic that crosses international borders, and enable the global economy to unfold through the financial transactions that take place through these cables.
In short, without the approximately 750,000 kilometers of cables that cross the oceans, our interconnected and digitally driven societies would not be able to function.