Historic note: First transatlantic fiber optic phone call

The following historic note just appeared in the comp.dcom.telecom newsgroup, and seems like it might be interest to these optics and fiber optics groups also:

------------------------------------------------ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is an item which appeared in TELECOM Digest V8 issue 202 on 12/16/88 (about 18 years ago) which I thought you might enjoy seeing again. PAT]

FIRST LASER PHONE CALL ZIPS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC! ISAAC ASIMOV DEDICATES TAT-8; MAKES FIRST CALL

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A shark-proof undersea cable began carrying laser beam phone calls across the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday as the first leg of a network designed to revolutionize service on three continents.

AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom, the three principal owners of the cable asked well known author Isaac Asimov to dedicate the new cable and place the first call.

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[The rest of this detailed article is in the comp.dcom.telecom newsgroup or can be accessed at

by searching down for "TAT-8".]

Reply to
AES
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Right, the short lifetime of the shark-attracting cable was taken at the time as conclusive proof that 1/f noise continued down to very low frequencies. ;)

Was it your office that I saw that joke on, Prof. S?

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

Reply to
Phil Hobbs

Nope -- not mine. "Snowmelt solitons", yes

but not sharks.

[I should update those pages -- have some new data.]
Reply to
AES

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