Surfacing is “a digital mapping project about the undersea network of cables that support our global network society.”(SDSU) This project, created in 2016 by Nicole Starosielski, Erik Loyer, and Shane Brennan, is an online database of global, transoceanic, submarine cable networks in the form of a visual, interactive experience. The project details the geographical locations where cables are connected, their pathways across a variety of oceans, and information about their owners, date of foundation, and purpose.
“A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea.”(Wikipedia)
Transoceanic cable networks transmit phone calls, text messages, emails, images, video, and even television internationally through fiber-optic, underwater cables. These cable networks carry 99% of all internationally transmitted digital communication. It is important to note that information can also be transmitted via satellite. The aforementioned statistic refers to data specifically transmitted via cable networks.
The project is sponsored by SubOptic, “a non-profit association active in the international undersea communications industry.”(SubOptic) This company was established in 1986 and partners with TeleGeography, “a telecommunications market research and consulting firm.”(TeleGeography)
