The Tonga volcanic eruption has revealed the vulnerabilities in our global telecommunication system

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 05:56:55 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/the-tonga-volcanic-eruption-has-revealed-the-vulnerabilities-in-our-global-telecommunication-system-175048>

"In the wake of a violent volcanic eruption in Tonga, much of the communication
with residents on the islands remains at a standstill. In our modern,
highly-connected world, more than 95% of global data transfer occurs along
fibre-optic cables that criss-cross through the world’s oceans.

Breakage or interruption to this critical infrastructure can have catastrophic
local, regional and even global consequences. This is exactly what has happened
in Tonga following Saturday’s volcano-tsunami disaster. But this isn’t the
first time a natural disaster has cut off critical submarine cables, and it
won’t be the last.

The video below shows the incredible spread of submarine cables around the
planet – with more than 885,000 kilometres of cable laid down since 1989. These
cables cluster in narrow corridors and pass between so-called critical “choke
points” which leave them vulnerable to a number of natural hazards including
volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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