TAT-6 was AT&T's sixth transatlantic telephone cable. It was in operation from 1976 to 1994, initially carrying 4,800 telephone circuits (simultaneous calls) between Rhode Island and France.
Known as the SG coaxial cable system, designed by Bell Labs, with repeater spacing of 5.1 nautical miles (9 km). The deep sea portion, some 3,000 nautical miles (6,000 km) in length, was laid by the Cable Ship LONG LINES, owned by AT&T. Portions of the shore sections were laid by the French Cable Ship 'Vercors'.
Although the majority of the system was designed by Bell Labs, portions were designed and built by the French and British, such as the terminal equipment and the power plant. The US cable station was located at Green Hill, RI, while the French cable terminal at St. Hilaire, France.
A few years later, TAT-7 was put into service between Tuckerton, New Jersey and Lands End, England, and was the last analog Transatlantic undersea system. The following system, TAT-8, known as SL design, by Bell Labs, was the first Transatlantic Fiber-Optic system, and greatly increased capacity and performance.
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