A transatlantic telephone cable

Plans have been announced for the laying of the first transatlantic telephone cable system to link the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, with a target date for completion in 1956. This paper traces the history of communication across the North Atlantic and discusses the inadequacy of radio circuits to satisfy the requirements of traffic growth. A general description is then given of the cable system which will provide 36 telephone circuits across the Atlantic and 60 between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The project has been made possible only by the development of submerged repeaters containing long-life vacuum tubes and other components, and these are described, as well as the American experimental work that led to the development of a flexible repeater housing which could be laid at depths of 2 miles without risk of damage to itself or to the cable. Fifty-two of these repeaters will be used in each of two 1-way cables, nearly 2,000 nautical miles long, connecting Newfoundland with Scotland. Newfoundland will be connected to Nova Scotia by a single cable containing 16 2-way repeaters of British design evolved from that which has been extensively used for schemes in home waters.