Get the app →
BriefTea logoBriefTea

Every story in sixty words

Explained in plain English

Who repairs broken cables?

Undersea cables are fixed by specialist ships equipped with grappling hooks and heavy-duty robotic submersibles. When a cable snaps, these vessels travel to the exact location on the ocean floor, lift the damaged sections to the surface, and meticulously splice the fibre-optic strands together by hand. It is slow, highly skilled work that keeps our global internet humming.

Stories that explain this

Snapchat to stop recommending fully AI-generated videos on its feed

Related explainers

Who owns undersea cables? What is 'AI slop'? The business of feeds The cost of junk Can data centres go green? Where do deleted files go? Who guards the deep sea? What happens to abandoned websites?

The full catalogue

Browse every card filed under R →