TAT-14
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| TAT-14 | |
|---|---|
| (Map not currently available) | |
| Owner(s) | Carriers consortium |
| Landing points | Blaabjerg (Denmark),
Norden (Germany), |
| Total length | 15,428 km |
| Topology | Self-healing ring |
| Design capacity | 640 Gbit/s |
| Currently lit capacity | 640 Gbit/s |
| Technology | Fiber optics with EDFA repeaters |
| Date of first use | March 21, 2001 |
| Decommissioning date | Unknown |
TAT-14 is the 14th consortia transatlantic telephone cable system. In operation from 2001 it utilises wavelength division multiplexing. The cable system is built from multiple pairs of fibres - one fibre in each pair is used for data carried in one direction (say West to East) and the other in the opposite direction (East to West). Although optical fibre can be used in both directions simultaneously, for reliability it is better not to require splitting equipment at the end of the individual fibre to separate transmit and receive signals - hence a fibre pair is used. TAT-14 uses 4 pairs of fibres - two pairs as active and two as backup. Each fibre in each pair carries 16 wavelengths in one direction, and each wavelength carries an STM-64 (9,621,504 kbit/s as payload). The fibres are bundled into submarine cables connecting the USA and the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands. Germany and Denmark in a ring topology.
By the time this cable went into operation, the expected long boom (term coined by Wired magazine) was already ending in the dot-com death. The overinvestment in transcontinental optical fiber capacity led to a financial crisis in private cable operators like Global Crossing.
[edit] Cable Failure
In November 2003, TAT-14 suffered two breaks within weeks of each other. This resulted in disruption to Internet services utilising in the United Kingdom.
[edit] External links
- Cable Failure Hits UK Internet Traffic - Article by ZDNet on the 2003 cable failure
