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So how did the Internet come to Sri Lanka?
We all thought it was from satellites right? No not like that!!
Submarine Cables
Not from satellites. We are receiving the internet through the sea. Okay, then you might wonder how the Internet Comes off the Sea? An island connected to the rest of the world by several cables laid along the seafloor. These are called submarine cables. Let's talk about it!
SEA-ME-WE cable system
SEA-ME-WE (SIMV) is the main cable system coming to Sri Lanka. SEA-ME-WE stands for South East Asia - Middle East-West Europe.
SLT in Sri Lanka invested in these cables
This cable system runs from France to Singapore 😲. Almost every country has an agency (SLT in Sri Lanka) that invests in these cables. The size of the investment will determine the capacity of the cable system. At present, there are 1 to 5 SEA-ME-WE cable systems in the sea.
Copper Cables
Long ago these submarine cables were made of copper. The diameter is a little less than a foot. The first cable to come to Sri Lanka was SEA-ME-WE 1. Pottery and Ceramics Solitary copper. This was connected near the Colombo golf course. SLT owned this from Sri Lanka.
connected near the Colombo golf course
After a while, the capacity of this was not enough. That's why those countries came together to build the SEA-ME-WE 2 system. This is also copper. The difference was that it had 2 cables. Thus the frequency was divided into two. This also connects to the golf course. Copper wires such as SEA-ME-WE 1 and SEAMEWE 2 became extinct due to high cost, inadequate speeds in the future, and the advent of optical fibers.
Fiber Optic
Subsequent submarine cables were all fiber optics. First, I will briefly explain what fiber optics is.
First of all, there is no wire inside the fiber optics. There is an invisibly thin layer of glass. So how do you transfer data along this line? Good question 😍
how do you transfer data along this line?
Very simple. Any data can be represented by a binary number like 0110101001. Which contains 0s and 1s. You may have seen that in movies or heard about this on you’re A/Ls.
Data can be transmitted using only one and zero
Think of it this way. You are at one end of the river. Your friend is on the other side. You want to send him a message on 0111010. You're using a flashlight. If the torch is lit it's 1; If it is not, then it's 0. You light the torch within a specified time
Off (0) On (1) On (1) On (1) Off (0) On (1) Off (0) The message 0111010 will be sent to the friend on the other side. Now he has to decode that binary number and find out what you sent.
For example 01000001 01100100 01101111 01101111 00100001 this is the binary code for "Adoo!" 😂
Now imagine a real-life scenario that we have to communicate like this.. Or nevermind.
The same method is used in optical fiber. A high-intensity laser beam is sent along the center of the glass. As it turns on and off, you will recognize 1 or 0 on the other side. In that sense, it is light transmission. Copper wires can't even move with this speed. So over time, all the submarine cables switched to fiber. The old copper cable was abandoned in the middle of the sea.
Latest submarine cables that we use
There are several submarine cables coming to Sri Lanka now. All of these are fiber cables.
1. SEA-ME-WE 3 - This landing station is located on Mount Lavinia. Due to old age, operations on this will be stopped soon. This is owned by SLT in Sri Lanka.
2. SEA-ME-WE 4 - This is the black pipe that runs along the sea in that golf course. If you go to Galle face, don't forget to check out SEA-ME-WE 1 and 2 as well. This too is owned by SLT in Sri Lanka. Most of the work in Sri Lanka was done with this.
3. SEA-ME-WE 5 - This is the newest and fastest one. Speed 100Gbps for one wavelength. It can send 80 wavelengths like that. Then the total speed will be around 8 Tbps. But in Sri Lanka, 80 wavelengths will not be used for another 10 years. So currently the maximum speed is around 600 Mbps. landing station is located in Matara. This too belongs to SLT in Sri Lanka.
4. Dhiraagu - This is not something that goes around the world. This is a point to point connection. This is how Sri Lanka and the Maldives connect. Sri Lanka owns SLT
5. Bharat Lanka - This also point to point. This is Sri Lanka and Thoothukudi in India. Sri Lankan owner is nonother than SLT.
If there was a malfunction in 3 and 4 cables then SEA-ME-WE 5 used as the backup.
6. Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) - This is from the UAE to Singapore. This is own by Dialog. The maximum speed is said to be 6.4 Tbps. The landing station is in Mount Lavinia.
At present Sri Lanka is connected to only 6 submarine cable systems. 5 of them are owned by SLT and 1 is owned by Dialog
These cables usually go to the seabed. There are separate international companies with ships and even divers to install and maintain these cables. They are the ones who are spreading submarine control over submarine cables.
What is the damage that could happen to submarine cables?
Since we talked about back up cable lines, let's talk about the damages that will malfunction those cables.
1. Rarely do sea ships sail here and there with their anchors in the sea. When that anchor gets stuck in our submarine cable, the cable breaks.
2. Submarine cables are not as thin as ordinary fiber cables. This is because of the fiber protection that surrounds it. When you look at a cross-section, you can see how many protective covers there are around the thin fiber. There are many cover types.
Why we don't use satellite internet?
There is no cheap satellite internet option in the world right now. There is hope on consumer satellite internet by project Starlink.
Read below for more information about Project Starlink!
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