The Undersea Network

Sign, Storage, Transmission

by Nicole Starosielski

In our "wireless" world it is easy to take the importance of the undersea cable systems for granted, but the stakes of their successful operation are huge, as they are responsible for carrying almost all transoceanic Internet traffic. In The Undersea Network Nicole Starosielski follows these cables from the ocean depths to their landing zones on the sandy beaches of the South Pacific, bringing them to the surface of media scholarship and making visible the materiality of the wired network. In doing so, she charts the cable network's cultural, historical, geographic and environmental dimensions. Starosielski argues that the environments the cables occupy are historical and political realms, where the network and the connections it enables are made possible by the deliberate negotiation and manipulation of technology, culture, politics and geography. Accompanying the book is an interactive digital mapping project, where readers can trace cable routes, view photographs and archival materials, and read stories about the island cable hubs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Science, History, Internet, Anthropology

312 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2015

About the author

Nicole Starosielski is Assistant Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone who utilizes the internet. I had no idea how much of our networked world comes not from satellites and wifi, but from cables buried under the sea, which follow colonial trading routes. The communications companies that own these cables are under varying scrutiny in different parts of the world, in terms of installing the physical products of cables. And yet within the global context of policy on networked communications, there are few governments which even acknowledge the existence of the undersea networks.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had both a personal and professional reason for choosing this audiobook: I learned about this book and decided it would be an excellent way to fact-check some of the worldbuilding feasibility in a speculative fiction novella that I’m about to self-publish, and my job has shifted to encompass more applied sciences fields at work, so I want to know more about what people do. I thought this book was an excellent overview. It was a bit repetitive at times, but overall, great. The last chapter about new(er) uses for cables was the most interesting.

[Jason Farman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why does the everyday user of the internet know so little about how it works and the physical objects in the world that are required to make it possible? Nicole Starosielski's book does an amazing job making these invisible infrastructures more visible and understandable. Moreover, she explores how infrastructures (and their invisibilities) have very profound political and cultural implications. I teach this book to my undergraduates and they overwhelming say it is their favorite read. I'll teach it next semester to my graduate students alongside Andrew Blum's work, Lisa Parks' writing on infrastructure, and a trip to a data center! I can't recommend this book enough!

[Anthony Matijas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing could get tedious at times, but Starosielski's goal is to get people to think about something we never give much thought to, even if we depend on it immensely. And in telling the story of the transoceanic infrastructure of the Internet she has accomplished that. The most engaging parts dealt directly with the history of undersea cables and the particular socio-political conditions in a few places around the world where those cables emerge.

[Braden Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of the year

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Undersea network, Starosielski explains the history of undersea cables with a primary focus on the sociopolitical impacts and implications. Apparently the first undersea cable network was an investment by the British Empire to keep its colonies within reach at all times. As this empire waned, the undersea cable industry shifted to the private commercial sector, and many investors flooded the market with capacity. A key point that Staro makes is that these cables have largely been laid along sociopolitical lines and much negotiation is often needed to decide on landing locations, etc.

From a scientific and technology development standpoint, she explains how the ocean was at some point chosen as the best “insulator” for these cables as humans pose the highest risk of disruption in terms of construction, civil unrest, etc. Even the depths of the oceans aren’t fully isolated from human interference as ship anchors have been known to break undersea cables at times. The transmission medium has also evolved from gutta-percha-encased copper to the modern fiber optic cables and how redundancy has been built into the system with multiple approaches such that the outage of one node cannot disable the network or access to other nodes.

While I recognize the importance of acknowledging the social and political implications of new and/ore evolving technologies, I found this book rather dull and wonder who the intended audience is. I would also note that there’s a surprising lack of literature about communication cables and especially undersea cables. I’m guessing it’s such a niche topic, even if undersea cables account for 99%, that there is not much demand for such literature in the public sphere and that most people interested in this topic are the few parties involved in the procurement and manufacturing of these cables.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and well researched book.

Going in, you need to know that it is a scholarly work mainly on the history of transoceanic low voltage cable industry from the 1850s to the present day. It deals with geopolitics, socioeconomics, environmental policies, computer networking, infosec, and other topics, but it isn’t a textbook or white paper. If you’re expecting something else, you’re going to have a bad time.

If you are interested in the topic but want something lighter, try Tubes by Andrew Blum. It is a travelogue of a reporter that visited several cable sites.

I am fascinated in this subject. The first transatlantic cable was laid in 1850s. Think about that. It was before the US Civil War. Before Jules Verne wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Before Edison’s light bulb.

And though undersea cables have been around since the start of the Technological Revolution, they are not talked about much. This is largely by design as the cables are usually considered critical infrastructure vulnerable to tampering and attacks. Today the majority internet connections around the world (even to remote locations) are fiber, yet the industry is happy to let people believe satellites are dominate. Details about cable locations, infrastructure, and techniques remain industry secrets. Local residents, fishermen, and even government officials aren’t always aware of them.

Yet despite the secrecy of the industry, it has played a major role in the scientific communities’ ability to map the ocean floors, to catalogue marine life, to track remote geological activity. The cables made accurate formation of time zones possible. That’s on top of the primary purpose of connecting the world.

Fascinating.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cables girdle the globe. Underlying the undersea and underfoot. Developed and spread over the course of over a century, using increasingly quiet methods. I thought satellite was the end of cables, but cables actually came back and made the satellites obsolete. Even without this happening, it is important to learn about the material infrastructure that facilitates our "smooth" networking. Modern life relies on this technology always functioning, so how is that possible? How do cables navigate local environments, both natural and social? How does cable laying change as technology progresses? How do cable companies work with one another and local governments to develop new connections or strengthen existing ones? Telegraph, telephone, internet, all requiring wires and networks which themselves require routes and landing sites and cable stations and cable workers and supportive communities and material support and constant maintenance. A great book covering a "hidden" subject in a way that emphasizes the potential of cables through a "nodal" discussion of their development and history, all the way back to the colonial period, rather than focusing on the actual capabilities and achievements of cabling technology and obscuring complex topics.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to learn a lot about the history and technology of undersea cables in this book, but it turned out to be one of those "technology and society" books reminiscent of a snooze-worthy undergrad class. The author repeats the words "circulations", "nodes", "grounded", "connection", "insulation" ad nauseum (and rarely in the context you'd expect for an undersea cable).

On the positive side, each chapter is littered with some interesting details of the history, geography, technology and politics of undersea cables, making it worth completing. I just wish this book was about 1/4 the length, had less repetition, and a more focused narrative surrounding intercontinental communications cables.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2

I had put this book down years ago but I’m very glad I picked it back up. While the beginning is a bit heavy on jargon, there is a wealth of great archival work here.

This is a case where theory and it’s metaphors obscured rather than illuminated (ha) the broader trends the author is describing. The book it at its strongest when she is free of academic interlopers and writing with her own original voice.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not written for a pop-science audience (has some of the vocab and structure of academia), but still accessible to one. This has changed and deepened the way I think about the internet. Our digital world is possible because of the physical infrastructure that has been deployed around the world. Subsea cables are one major component.

[Dorilyn]

physical internet bruh

[Toby Crime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review brought to you by the vestiges of colonial infrastructure built on by neocolonial infrastructure.

[Maksim Prokhorov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly clear and understandable for a layman audience.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get through this because it's written for a more academic audience, but this book fundamentally changed how I think about the internet. It covers a mix of technology, labor, geography, and popular narratives about undersea communication cables. Really hammers home an understanding of global communication networks as physical, precarious things built across political/geographic boundaries.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of the internet is real long tubes at the bottom of the goddamn ocean and the analysis of them in this book is like the Marianas Trench... it's deep as hell

[Lette Hass · Rating 4 out of 5]

De alguna manera todos estamos buscando lo mismo: pensar y analizar todas las estructuras que NO son visibles y sin embargo nos mantienen en un estado ideológico común: el tráfico (información y Mercado global). Starosielski es puntual al 'volver visible' la materialidad de esa red global, la trae 'a la superficie'. Es curioso que los denominados NUEVOS MATERIALISMOS, sean justamente los dispositivos hermenéuticos de mayor alcance en la actualidad. Base/superestructura? Es a través de la materia (por más oculta que se encuentre, enterrada al fondo del mar) que vuelven a señalarse las fuerzas y dimensiones de lo social, lo cultural y la política de gobernanza global. Es necesario comprender su 'materialidad'.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Digital Studies Colloquium. Great model of scholarship with the mixed methods of ethnography, archival research, and fieldwork. Also liked how she modeled the new narratives about undersea cable networks that she advocates for.

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