to you through a fiber optic submarine cable running along the ocean floor. These cables

通過沿著海底的光纖海底電纜向你傳輸。這些電纜

are part of the infrastructure that transmits almost all internet data around the world.

是傳輸全球幾乎所有互聯網數據的基礎設施的一部分。

And as everyone and everything becomes increasingly reliant on the internet to function, who owns,

而當每個人、每件事都越來越依賴互聯網來運作時，誰擁有。

builds and ultimately controls this network will be more critical than ever.

構建並最終控制這個網絡將比以往任何時候都更加重要。

Internet adaptation has steadily increased over the last couple of decades. Despite its

在過去的幾十年裡，互聯網適應性穩步提高。儘管它

creation in the late 1960s, the internet was only widely adopted in 1989 after the invention

創立於20世紀60年代末，互聯網在1989年發明後才被廣泛採用。

of the world wide web, revolutionizing the way we communicate.

的世界性網絡，徹底改變了我們的交流方式。

Before the rise of mobile devices, internet access was largely limited to expensive and

在移動設備興起之前，互聯網的訪問主要限於昂貴的和。

inconvenient desktop computers. But today, it's an indispensable part of our lives.

不方便的臺式電腦。但如今，它已經成為我們生活中不可缺少的一部分。

So, here's how it works.

所以，這就是它的工作原理。

When you send an email, tweet or post a photo online, that data is sent through cables or

當你在網上發送電子郵件、推特或發佈照片時，這些數據會通過電纜或其他方式發送。

more commonly radio waves to a router or cell phone tower. From there, these signals are

更常見的是將無線電波傳到路由器或手機塔。從那裡，這些信號是

sent through a series of fiber optic cables in the form of pulses of light to an internet

通過一系列光纜以脈衝光的形式發送到互聯網上

exchange, which acts like a sorting office. Most data from users in a local area network

交換機，它的作用就像一個分揀辦公室。局域網中用戶的大部分數據

pass through these hubs in order to connect to other networks. For networks and data centers

通過這些集線器，以便連接到其他網絡。對於網絡和數據中心

on the other side of the world, this journey will likely traverse the seabed.

在世界的另一邊，這段旅程很可能會穿越海底。

These submarine cables crisscross the ocean before arriving at an anonymous looking building

這些海底電纜縱橫交錯地穿過海洋，然後到達一個看起來不知名的建築。

like this. It's called a landing station and it's the end of the line for the submarine

像這樣的。這叫登陸站，是潛艇的終點站。

cable before the data begins its journey overland again.

在數據再次開始其陸上旅程之前，電纜。

To lay a cable across any ocean is a significant feat but it's not a modern innovation — it's

鋪設一條橫跨任何海洋的電纜是一項重大的壯舉，但這並不是一項現代的創新，它是

been happening for more than 160 years.

160多年來一直在發生。

As soon as the cable is passed under the bows the crew take charge of it.

當纜繩從船頭下穿過後，船員們就會負責。

The invention and widespread use of the electric telegraph – which could carry the dots and

電報機的發明和廣泛使用--它可以傳遞點和。

dashes of morse code – led to the first transatlantic telegraph cable between the

摩爾斯電碼的破折號--導致了第一條橫跨大西洋的電報電纜在美國和歐洲之間的使用。

U.S. and Britain in 1858.

1858年，美英兩國。

By the early 20th century, the dominance of the telegraph was replaced by telephone technology

到了20世紀初，電報的主導地位被電話技術所取代。

that allowed voices to be carried over wires through electrical signals. Soon, submarine

讓聲音通過電信號在電線上傳遞。很快，潛水艇

cables were carrying telephone traffic, which were laid worldwide, mostly by telecommunication

鋪設在世界各地的電話電纜，主要由電信公司鋪設。

monopolies such as the British Post Office and the American Telephone and Telegraph, or AT&T.

壟斷企業，如英國郵政局和美國電話電報公司，即AT&T。

Amidst the dotcom bubble in the 1990s, international consortiums began to invest in submarine cables too.

在上世紀90年代的網絡保麗龍中，國際大財團也開始投資海底電纜。

35km of fiber optics connects this one dealing room.

35公里的光纖連接這一個交易室。

These private companies sold or leased the bandwidth to other commercial entities which

這些私營公司將帶寬出售或出租給其他商業實體，而這些商業實體則將帶寬出售或出租給其他商業實體。

needed more capacity.

需要更多的能力。

The last ten years have seen a rapid expansion of the network to keep up with the demand

在過去的十年裡，網絡迅速擴張，以滿足需求。

for internet services. As of early 2020, there were 406 submarine cables that totaled around

為互聯網服務。截至2020年初，共有406條海底電纜，總長度約為

750,000 miles in length, enough to go around the world 30 times. Some lines are relatively

75萬英里的長度，足夠繞地球30圈。有些線路比較

short, like the 81-mile CeltixConnect cable between Ireland and the United Kingdom, while

短，比如愛爾蘭和英國之間81英里的"■▄▄■▓CeltixConnect"■▄▄■▓，而。

others, such as the Asia America Gateway cable, which runs across the Pacific Ocean, is 12,427 miles long. 

其他如橫跨太平洋的亞美大通道"■▄▄■▓，全長12427英里。

Packed within these cables are fibre optic strands that transmit data at speeds of more

這些電纜中裝有光纖股，其數據傳輸速度超過了1.5倍。

than 100,000 miles/second, and they carry more than 95% of international data. That's

超過10萬英里/秒，而且它們承載了95%以上的國際數據。那就是

because undersea cables are still the fastest, most reliable and least costly way to transmit

因為海底電纜仍然是最快、最可靠、成本最低的傳輸方式。

information over vast distances.

遙遠的資訊。

While the infrastructure on land and underwater is vulnerable to the occasional curious rat

雖然陸上和水下的基礎設施很容易受到偶爾好奇的老鼠的攻擊。

or shark, the biggest threat to submarine cables is human activity. In 2011, internet

或鯊魚，對海底電纜最大的威脅是人類活動。2011年，互聯網

access to the whole of Armenia was severed after an elderly Georgian woman damaged an

在一名格魯吉亞老婦人破壞了亞美尼亞全境的道路後，亞美尼亞的交通被切斷。

underground cable while scavenging for copper, while in 2016, a ship dragging its anchor

地下電纜而挖銅，而在2016年，一艘拖著錨的船。

in the English Channel cut three undersea internet cables.

在英吉利海峽切斷三條海底網線。

In some circumstances, though, satellites are needed to deliver the internet. Very remote

不過在某些情況下，需要衛星來傳送互聯網。非常偏遠的

areas don't have the population density to make an economic case for cabling, so satellites

地區的人口密度不高，無法為佈線提供經濟依據，所以衛星的數量是有限的。

are the preferred option. For security reasons, many governments and their military also rely

是首選。出於安全考慮，許多國家政府及其軍隊也依靠

on satellites. Google's parent company Alphabet has also set their sights on internet balloons

衛星上。谷歌的母公司Alphabet也將目光投向了互聯網氣球上

to beam the internet to unconnected parts of the world.

以將互聯網傳送到世界上沒有連接的地方。

But even as the web has grown, it has also narrowed in some respects. The rise of the

但即便是在網絡發展的同時，它也在某些方面有所收窄。崛起的

American tech giants in the 21st century meant that Silicon Valley had a reason to invest

21世紀的美國科技巨頭，意味著硅谷有了投資的理由。

in these strategic assets.

在這些戰略資產中。

Today, content providers such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft own or lease more than

如今，谷歌、Facebook、亞馬遜和微軟等內容提供商擁有或租賃的內容超過了

half of the global undersea bandwidth. As of 2020, Google has invested in 16 cables

佔全球海底帶寬的一半。截至2020年，谷歌已投資16條電纜

that traverse most of the world, Facebook has stakes in 12 that cross both the Pacific

在橫跨全球大部分地區的公司中，Facebook在12個橫跨太平洋的公司中都有股份。

and Atlantic Oceans, while Microsoft and Amazon have funded five cables each.

和大西洋，而微軟和亞馬遜則各出資5條電纜。

As the tech giants expand their global network of data centers, these cables will be essential

隨著科技巨頭們擴大其全球數據中心網絡，這些電纜將是必不可少的。

to meet the demand for their services such as cloud computing and streaming, which require

以滿足其雲計算和流媒體等服務的需求，這就需要有一個好的解決方案。

minimal delay and lots of bandwidth.

最小的延遲和大量的帶寬。

But the ownership of these submarine cables is drawing scrutiny from governments due to

但由於這些海底電纜的所有權正在引起各國政府的審查。

security concerns. Some analysts believe it's the latest frontier in the geopolitical battle

的安全擔憂。一些分析人士認為，這是地緣政治戰役的最新戰線

between China and the U.S.

中美之間

In 2018, Australia prevented Chinese tech company Huawei from laying a cable between

2018年，澳洲阻止了中國科技公司華為在兩國之間鋪設電纜。

the country and the Solomon Islands over concerns that it would give the Chinese government

中國和所羅門群島，因為擔心這會給中國

access to its networks.

進入其網絡。

In June, a U.S. national security panel objected to an 8,000-mile cable being built by Facebook

6月，美國國家安全小組反對Facebook建設一條8000英里的電纜。

and Google connecting Hong Kong and the U.S., arguing that it would offer 'unprecedented

和谷歌連接香港和美國，認為這將提供 "前所未有的"。

opportunities' for Chinese government espionage by capturing internet traffic.

通過捕捉互聯網流量，為中國政府的間諜活動提供機會。

Many analysts believe that Huawei's growing involvement in the construction and repair

不少分析人士認為，華為越來越多地參與到建設和修

of submarine cables worldwide could even allow China to disrupt internet links between nations,

的全球海底電纜，甚至可以讓中國破壞國家間的互聯網鏈接。

echoing strategies employed during World War I. Then, the United Kingdom's dominance

然後，英國的主導地位也被打破了，這也是第一次世界大戰期間的策略。

of the international telegraph infrastructure allowed it to cut off almost all of Germany's

的國際電報基礎設施，使它能夠切斷德國幾乎所有的。

communication with the outside world.

與外界的交流。

Likewise, the U.S. had an espionage program in the 1970s to tap Russian undersea communication cables.

同樣，美國在上世紀70年代也有一個間諜計劃，竊聽俄羅斯的海底通信電纜。

Having multiple submarine cables covering the same route acts as a buffer in the event

在同一路線上鋪設多條海底電纜，在發生事故時起到緩衝作用。

a cable is damaged. However, building more cables won't necessarily improve connectivity

電纜損壞。然而，建設更多的電纜並不一定能改善連接性。

or internet speeds for everyone.

或網速為大家。

For instance, despite having the second largest online market globally, half of the Indian

例如，儘管印度擁有全球第二大在線市場，但一半的印度

population still don't have internet access. Africa is also a significantly underserviced

的人口仍然沒有互聯網接入。非洲也是一個服務嚴重不足的地區。

region, with 871 million people lacking access to the internet.

地區，有8.71億人無法上網。

Reasons include the lack of data centers, last-mile infrastructure and unaffordable

原因包括缺乏數據中心、最後一公里基礎設施和難以負擔的費用。

costs for end-users that won't be solved by increased undersea bandwidth.

終端用戶的成本，並不能通過增加海底帶寬來解決。

However, as these markets open up and more people come online, demand for faster internet

然而，隨著這些市場的開放和越來越多的人上網，對更快的互聯網的需求。

speeds will continue to rise. It's unlikely, then, that the submarine cable race between

速度將繼續上升。那麼，海底電纜的競賽不太可能在美國和歐洲之間進行。

the big tech companies is going to slow down. With billions of dollars of revenue at stake,

的大科技公司要放慢腳步了。與數十億美元的收入有關。

more money will continue to be invested in these expensive subsea projects.

更多的資金將繼續投入到這些昂貴的海底項目中。

Hi guys, thanks for watching our video. If you're wondering why we're standing on this beach

嗨，夥計們，感謝你們觀看我們的視頻。如果你想知道為什麼我們會站在這個海灘上。

well under the water over there is a submarine cable that runs from the west coast of England

在那邊的水底有一條從英國西海岸延伸過來的海底電纜。

to the east coast of America, about 3,500 miles away. We'll see you next time.

到美國東海岸，大約3500英里遠。我們下次再見。