{
  "1858": {
    "description": "The first transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully laid, connecting Ireland to Canada. It ceased functioning after only three weeks."
  },
  "1866": {
    "description": "A permanent and more reliable transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully laid, drastically reducing communication times between Europe and North America from weeks to minutes."
  },
  "1870": {
    "description": "The first submarine cable connecting England to India, known as the Red Sea Line, was completed."
  },
  "1898": {
    "description": "By the end of the 19th century, a sophisticated \"web\" of submarine telegraph cables linked Europe and North America."
  },
  "1902": {
    "description": "The telegraph across the Pacific Ocean was completed, connecting the U.S. mainland to Hawaii. The trans-Pacific segment of the British \"All Red Line\" also connected Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji."
  },
  "1903": {
    "description": "Guam was linked to the Philippines via undersea cable, further expanding the trans-Pacific network."
  },
  "1921": {
    "description": "Executive Order No. 3513 was issued in the United States, relating to applications for submarine cable licenses. Cables continued to prosper due to their security, with speeds reaching 400 words per minute across the Atlantic by 1928 for telegraph messages."
  },
  "1951": {
    "description": "Western Union integrated electronic amplifiers into their non-loaded cables at the edge of the continental shelf."
  },
  "1956": {
    "description": "The first transatlantic telephone cable, TAT-1, commenced service, connecting Scotland and Newfoundland. This coaxial cable system initially carried 36 telephone channels and marked the beginning of global telephone communications via submarine cables."
  },
  "1959": {
    "description": "TAT-2, a similarly designed transatlantic telephone cable, was laid from France to Canada. This year also saw the \"Transatlantic Cables Incident,\" where a Soviet vessel was boarded by the USS Roy O. Hale in response to cable breakages."
  },
  "1960": {
    "description": "The 1960s marked the dawn of the satellite communication age, with the launch of Telstar 1 in 1962, the first active communications satellite. For a time, satellites became the primary choice for transoceanic communication."
  },
  "1963": {
    "description": "The AT&T cableship CS Long Lines was launched and laid TAT-3, a single-line transatlantic cable capable of carrying 128 channels. The CS Long Lines also laid the first trans-Pacific cable (TPC-1) from Oahu, to Japan, via Midway, Wake, and Guam."
  },
  "1965": {
    "description": "The first transistorized Atlantic telephone cable was introduced."
  },
  "1970": {
    "description": "Communications-grade optical fiber was developed at Corning. TAT-5, utilizing transistors, went into service between New Jersey and Spain, carrying 845 channels."
  },
  "1976": {},
  "1978": {
    "description": "A significant commitment was made by AT&T, GPO, and Standard Telecommunications Laboratories for TAT-8, scheduled for a decade later, to be fiber-optic instead of coaxial."
  },
  "1982": {
    "description": "TAT-2 was superseded by the emerging fiber optic cable technology."
  },
  "1983": {},
  "1986": {
    "description": "A fiber-optic cable was laid across the English Channel to Belgium, capable of carrying 11,500 telephone circuits on its fiber pairs."
  },
  "1987": {
    "description": "A report on the erbium-doped fiber amplifier was released, a key development for optical communication."
  },
  "1988": {
    "description": "TAT-8, the first trans-Atlantic fiber optic cable, entered service. This revolutionary cable had a capacity equivalent to 40,000 telephone circuits, a tenfold increase over its predecessor, marking a significant shift to fiber optics. With this advancement, submarine cables once again became superior to satellites for transoceanic communication."
  },
  "1989": {},
  "1990": {
    "description": "The internet became publicly accessible in 1989, marking the beginning of a new era for global communication."
  },
  "1991": {
    "description": "The world's first website launched."
  },
  "1992": {
    "description": "The CS Long Lines cableship completed its last mission, having laid cable on 23 missions, including 10 across the Pacific or Atlantic, since 1963."
  },
  "1993": {},
  "1994": {
    "description": "The first deployments of all-optical EDFA (Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier) submarine cable systems occurred."
  },
  "1995": {},
  "1996": {
    "description": "AT&T laid the first all-optic fiber cable across the Pacific, TPC-5CN."
  },
  "1997": {
    "description": "The Fiber Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) was completed."
  },
  "1998": {
    "description": "Between 1998 and 2003, approximately 70% of new undersea fiber-optic cable was laid in the Pacific Ocean, reflecting the growing global reach of the internet."
  },
  "1999": {},
  "2000": {
    "description": "Internet usage soared, with 361 million people (6% of the global population) online. A \"telecom crash\" occurred around 2000, as the installed and under-construction transmission capacity greatly exceeded actual traffic demand."
  },
  "2001": {},
  "2002": {},
  "2003": {},
  "2004": {},
  "2005": {},
  "2006": {},
  "2007": {},
  "2008": {
    "description": "Major submarine cable disruptions in the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East highlighted the vulnerability of this critical infrastructure, causing widespread internet slowdowns and outages."
  },
  "2009": {},
  "2010": {},
  "2011": {},
  "2012": {},
  "2013": {},
  "2014": {},
  "2015": {
    "description": "Major technology companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft began directly investing in and building their own undersea cables."
  },
  "2016": {
    "description": "TeleGeography's Submarine Cable Map showed 321 undersea cable systems globally."
  },
  "2017": {},
  "2018": {
    "description": "TeleGeography's Submarine Cable Map showed 366 undersea cable systems."
  },
  "2019": {
    "description": "A \"building boom\" in undersea cables occurred, with approximately 378 submarine cables in service."
  },
  "2020": {
    "description": "The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant spike in internet traffic, with new system spending rebounding to $2.7 billion."
  },
  "2021": {
    "description": "Global internet bandwidth continued its upward trajectory, rising by 29%."
  },
  "2022": {
    "description": "Global internet bandwidth rose by 28%, reaching 997 terabits per second (Tbps). TeleGeography mapped 486 cable systems."
  },
  "2023": {
    "description": "Global internet bandwidth increased by 23%, reaching 1,217 Tbps, and the number of cable systems grew to 529."
  },
  "2024": {
    "description": "Several new submarine cable systems are set to go live, including parts of the 2Africa, IAX, IEX, and PEACE cables. Incidents off West Africa and in the Baltic Sea have raised concerns about the security of this vital infrastructure."
  },
  "2025": {
    "description": "The global internet user base is projected to reach 5.6 billion. TeleGeography forecasts 597 cable systems and 1,712 landings, with the PEARLS branch of the 2Africa cable also expected to be operational."
  }
}
