Satellites provide unprecedented flexibility in passing information around the world. But they compete with and complement another technology for international communications: fiber optic cables laid beneath oceans and connecting the world's major land masses. Fiber optic cables can carry more information, more quickly than satellites, but they concentrate service to the most heavily populated regions of the world. This section of cable represents late 1990s technology. Note the thin filaments at the center of the cable; these are the fiber optic strands that transmit communications.
Donated by Tyco International, Limited, Simplex Technologies, the manufacturer, to the Museum in 1999.
Display Status
This object is on display in One World Connected at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
EQUIPMENT-Communications Devices
Manufacturer
Tyco International, Limited. Simplex Technologies
Dimensions
3-D: 27.6 × 4.4cm (10 7/8 × 1 3/4 in.)
Materials
Ferrous Alloy
Fiber Optics (Likely Glass)
Plastics
Copper Alloy
Unknown Coating
Synthetic Fiber Fabric
Inventory Number
A19990153000
Credit Line
Gift of Tyco International, Limited. Simplex Technologies.
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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