Specimen of the first transatlantic telephone cable, 1956
- maker:
- Submarine Cables Limited

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 TAT-1 remained in use without failure until 1978, being withdrawn from service because of the installation of much higher capacity cables across the Atlantic.
On display
Science Museum: Information Age Gallery: Exchange
If you are visiting to see this object, please contact us in advance to make sure that it will be on display.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1960-137
- Materials:
- copper (alloy), plastic (unidentified) and steel (metal)
- type:
- cable
- taxonomy:
-
- credit:
- Donated by Submarine Cable Limited
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.