I suppose I had assumed all these cables were strictly fiber optic. Indeed fascinating. I should study up to remove my default assumptions.

They are fiber optic, however the repeaters require power to operate.

The really cool thing about the repeaters is that they're optical. They don't work by converting the incoming signal into an electrical impulse at all; instead, they amplify entirely in the optical domain.

Can you provide any more info as to how that works?

Here you go! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_amplifier#Doped_fiber_a...

You can do repeater less fiber for longer and longer distances no, though -- probably around 1000km.

Ergo, the cables are not strictly only fiber optic. There are metal power lines as well.

"the obligatory video showing how they load a submarine cable onto a ship"

They have $57 million worth of fairleads going into the ship and they're still using the thing with the two old car tires like an old baseball pitching machine?

It's ruggedized cable, designed to live underwater for decades(or centuries at this point). Besides, there's hundreds of miles of it, what else are you going to do?

Use something a little more...dignified...than two used car tires?

Because dignity: our packets need it.

Yes, yes. Most important.

From here on out, no more undersea cables. I won't have my data associating with riffraff of this sort. With such undignified origins, who knows what these cables might be capable of?

Now underground cables are a completely different breed entirely. Its installation is an altogether more dignified affair.

The soil is carefully tilled by refined gentlemen wielding silver spades and wearing freshly-pressed tuxedos. They carefully lay the cable down into its final resting place, whilst a full orchestra plays a requiem ever so softly in the background.

To you it looks like two old car tires. To me it looks like the perfect tool for the job.

I'll bet those tires were purchased brand new...