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