Specimen of the first transatlantic telephone cable, deep sea type, 1956
- maker:
- Submarine Cables Limited
Specimen of the first transatlantic telephone cable, deep-sea type, made by Submarine Cables Limited, Erith, London, England, 1956.
Also known as TAT-1, the first transatlantic telephone cable was laid between Oban, Scotland, and Newfoundland. The project was announced by the Postmaster General on December 1953, and was a joint venture between the General Post Office of the UK, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and the Canadian Overseas Telecommunications Corporation. Between 1955 and 1956, two cables were laid - one for each direction of speech. The deep sea part of the cable had a lighter, high-tensile steel armouring compared to the shore ends. TAT-1 remained in use without failure until 1978, being withdrawn from service because of the installation of much higher capacity cables across the Atlantic.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1960-136
- Materials:
- steel (metal), copper (alloy), plastic (unidentified) and wax
- Measurements:
-
overall: 229 mm x 39 mm diameter, .25kg
- type:
- cable
- credit:
- Donated by Submarine Cables Limited