Specimen of the first transatlantic telephone cable, intermediate type or shore portion, 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 Clarenville, 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 intermediate or shore portion of the cable had a heavier mild steel armouring, compared to the deep sea lengths. TAT-1 remained in use without failure until 1978, being withdrawn from service because of the installation of much higher capacity cables across the Atlantic.