Section of TAT-8 transatlantic optical fibre cable, 1989

Section of TAT-8 transatlantic optical fibre cable in display case, made by British Telecom International, British, 1989. Brass plaque inscribed:- 'Section of TAT-8- the first transatlantic optical fibre cable. Presented to the Science Museum, London, by Mr. Alan Jefferis, director, satellite and lines, British Telecom International, on 22nd March 1989'.

Section of TAT-8 transatlantic optical fibre cable in display case, made by British Telecom International, British, 1989. Brass plaque inscribed:- 'Section of TAT-8- the first transatlantic optical fibre cable. Presented to the Science Museum, London, by Mr. Alan Jefferis, director, satellite and lines, British Telecom International, on 22nd March 1989'.

The TAT-8 cable was the first fibre-optic transatlantic cable. The project was managed by AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom. It was inaugurated in December 1988 and had a capacity equivalent to 40,000 calls, ten times that of the last copper cable. It covered 6700 km between Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, and Tuckerton, New Jersey. A branching unit about 500 km from Cornwall allowed France to also be connected. There were 120 electronic regenerators (repeaters) in watertight housings along the route. This sample is taken from the deep-water section, and has an aluminium skin beneath the outer cladding to protect it from shark bites. It was retired from service in 2002.