Was recommended this resource https://globe.gl/ for another project.
Browsing their examples, there was this map of internet submarine cables laid over the globe. While listed information is good (like I posted in Feb 2026), sometimes a visual can highlight interesting, salient details the text just can’t.
https://globe.gl/example/submarine-cables/index.html
Some interesting bits (comparing side-by-side to a separate browser window with Google Maps, with satellite/undersea features turned on):
Pacific
- Highly concentrated nodes northeast of New Zealand, in Fiji and French Polynesia, that serve as mid-point, redundant nodes, and exchanges between Australia, Hawai’i, and the west coast of the United States. On this submarine map, you’d think heavily populated areas were supported there.
- Guam crossroads. Same reasons as above.
- Southern Cross NEXT line (the red line that goes to southern California via the first route south of Hawai’i). Notable that it skips Hawai’i, maybe to serve Kiribati, but also avoids the Hawaiian node.
- Alaska supports many fiber connections compared to 15 years ago.
Indian Ocean
- Little dipsey-do that conveniently provides fiber for Diego Garcia.
- Interestingly, that same same cable makes a major dipsey-do to a random spot in the Indian Ocean west of Indonesia to what appears to be Cocos Islands. Googling “are there military bases on cocos islands” kind of answers that one.
- Joining of Timor-Lest South Submarine Cable (yellow) and North-West Cable System (blue) (cable arriving from Port Hedland, major mining hub, it looks like) in the middle of the Timor Sea just north of Mitchell Plateau, Australia.
Arctic
- Polar Express cable connecting sea hubs around Russia’s perimeter, not unexpected, but a large undertaking. And curious if there’s land based fiber too or if undersea is better protected, so desirable.
Atlantic
- Multiple connections from Norway to Svalbard isn’t surprising, but what is surprising, is another long dipsy-do connecting Svalbard, Norway, and what seems to be Jan Mayen. (Maybe/probably a military base)
- Huge deviation of Equiano cable to St. Helena. I think this was an economic development program.
- Fiber connections lighting up the Amazon
- The Gulf of Mexico Fiber Optic Cable seems to go from Feeport, TX to maybe Biloxi, MS. Probably is a way to connect oil rigs stationed in the Gulf.
- Lines along the southern coast of Hudson Bay in Quebec province.
In general, it seems like very small population centers around the globe are now supported with fiber connections. Maybe the cost of fiber has come down a ton. Maybe the cost of deployment has come down. Maybe there are big subsidies. Maybe the economic value of decent internet is just too strong. It’ll be interesting whether satellite internet curbs further deployment of hardwired fiber, or whether these networks still prove their worth. I genuinely don’t know the answer.
Kudos to the map designer for preserving the land and some undersea features so that these explorations and sleuthing are possible.