“Submarine cables account for over 99% of intercontinental knowledge site visitors” is commonly quoted within the press with no supply given.
It’s time for some fact-checking.
Attending to the Supply
Whereas digging into the origin of this delusion, I used to be capable of finding one occasion the place a supply was given. It was accredited to us, TeleGeography.
The quotation linked to our Submarine Cable FAQs web page, which states: “Statistics launched by U.S. Federal Communications Fee point out that satellites account for simply 0.37% of all U.S. worldwide capability.”
We’re solely speaking about U.S. worldwide capability right here—not the entire international capability—and in relation to satellites.
I made a decision to go to the FCC’s web site subsequent.
Under, you’ll see a screenshot from the FCC’s Circuit Standing Report web page and an inventory of the reviews that they provide.
The newest knowledge is for 2013, launched in 2015. It’s nearly 10 years previous now; not an amazing supply.
There’s no new knowledge as a result of the FCC modified the reporting requirement and satellite tv for pc operators don’t must report their circuits anymore. In order that’s a dead-end for us, sadly.
Different Methods To Take a look at This Fable
The Conclusion
So, do submarine cables account for over 99% of intercontinental knowledge site visitors?
We will verify that that is true. Nonetheless, we are able to’t do exact calculations with out knowledge for intercontinental satellite tv for pc site visitors.
Tim Stronge and I tackled this delusion and 5 others throughout our presentation at SubOptic 2023. Obtain our slides for the total breakdown.
