Submarine Cable Landing Point in Cornwall, UK
A large number of transatlantic submarine cables make landfall in Widemouth Bay, near Bude in Cornwall, UK. I have some questions about visiting this site:
- What does a cable landing point look like?
- How close can you get to one?
- Where is the infrastructure that carries the signals further inland?
- Is it possible to see one online? I see just a beach when I visit Widemouth bay in Google Maps (though the GCHQ listening station nearby is obvious enough...)
Best Answer
I have a beach house in New Jersey near the landing points for several cables. The only thing to see is a rusty sign saying DO NOT ANCHOR HERE. This web site says the sign at Widemouth Bay says TELEPHONE CABLE: http://www.picturetheuk.com/uk-tourism/things-to-do/widemouth-bay-telephone-cable-cornwall-4663.html You might enjoy the museum at Porthcurno, all about the early telegraph cables that landed there: http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/index.php
Pictures about "Submarine Cable Landing Point in Cornwall, UK"
Where do undersea cables come ashore?
Nearer to the shore cables are buried under the seabed for protection, which explains why you don't see cables when you go the beach, but in the deep sea they are laid directly on the ocean floor.How many cable landing stations are there?
As of December 2019, there are 74 FCC licensed submarine cable systems (either operating or planning to enter service) and 9 new submarine cables pending for submarine cable landing license.How fast is the Grace Hopper cable?
The Grace Hopper cable is designed to send up to 350 terabytes of data per second and to reduce internet outages with fiber switching, Google said.How big is the Grace Hopper cable?
Grace Hopper (submarine communications cable)Grace HopperTotal length6,250 km + 6,300 kmDesign capacity352 Tbit/sTechnologyFibre OpticDate of first use20212 more rowsPCCW Global's AAE 1 Cable Landing
More answers regarding submarine Cable Landing Point in Cornwall, UK
Answer 2
I've visited all the Cable Landing Stations in Cornwall, they are all linked up by ducts under 3 roads that run from West Penwith all the way to Bude passing Widemouth Bay. On the beach at Widemouth there are two Post Office Manholes that have HD marked on them near the Lifeguard Hut, these are where the sea cables are spliced onto the land cables which then run up to the nearby Poultry Farm where a large Cable and Wireless Landing Station is situated. Cornwall also has a few discreet Relay stations half way between Bude and West Penwith to handle the Atlantic cables.
Answer 3
Here is a photo I took of one of the cables on a Cornish beach after a storm nine years ago.
There is also this excellent You Tube video you can watch and this media report
I also wrote this blog post giving a load of relevant links.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, adriano meirinho, adriano meirinho, Vaan Photography