Fibre optics

Above ground or under water, fibre optics is everywhere.

As thin as a strand of hair, optical fibre transmits light and enables communication.
But how is the light transmitted? How is optical fibre manufactured? How is it used in telecommunications? And how has it evolved from the 1970s to the present? An in-depth look at an often under-appreciated subject…

How is optical fibre installed above ground?

Wire strippers, cleavers, splicers, holders…all of these tools are regularly used by technicians who prepare, test and repair optical fibre, in order to bring high-speed internet to our doorsteps via the router.
Follow the path that a signal takes from a router in a big city apartment, and learn all about the hardware that connects users to the rest of the network, across the country and the globe.

At the heart of the network, optical fibre is everywhere

Any time we access the network, our communications use fibre optics to:

• Call a friend in Tokyo from a mobile while riding the bus.
• Track our fitness in the gym, with an armband monitor connected to the internet.
  Play online at home.
• Send a report from the office to another country.
  Watch the videos to learn more about how these communications reach their destination

On land and sea, underwater fibre optics bridges continents

Since 1988, underwater fibre-optic cables have been used to transmit data.
Today, more than 99% of international communications are carried out using underwater fibre-optic cables.
Discover all of the underwater cables that circle the globe!