TAT-7

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Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

TAT-7 is the seventh transatlantic telephone submarine communications cable, part of the Trans-Atlantic Telephone (TAT) cable series that transited cross-ocean telecommunications links between North America and Europe. It was a copper-based cable system deployed before the first fiber-optic transatlantic cable TAT-8.

Key moments

1976TAT-7 entered commercial service
After 1988Overshadowed and partially replaced by higher-capacity fiber-optic cables like TAT-8
Early 2000sOfficially decommissioned as newer cable systems took over its traffic

Historical Position

TAT-7 was a key intermediate generation transatlantic cable, following earlier coaxial copper TAT cables and preceding the fiber-optic TAT-8. It improved capacity over prior TAT cables, reaching 140 Mbit/s which could carry thousands of simultaneous telephone calls, a major upgrade for transatlantic voice communications in the 1970s and 80s.

Technical Features

Unlike the later fiber-optic TAT-8, TAT-7 used copper wiring with multiple signal repeaters spaced along its length to maintain transmission quality over the 5000+ kilometer Atlantic crossing. Its design reflected the state of the art for electro-mechanical telecommunications before fiber-optic technology became widespread for submarine cables.

Legacy

As part of the TAT series, TAT-7 helped establish the framework for global public submarine telecommunications networks, laying groundwork for the modern internet's transoceanic backbone infrastructure.

TAT-7 was the seventh transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1983 to 1994, initially carrying 4,000 3 kHz telephone circuits between New Jersey, United States and Porthcurno in southwest England. It was owned by AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom, and was the last copper cable to be laid across the Atlantic.[1]

Although optical fiber had been invented in 1970, this cable was still using coaxial cable technology.

References

History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - Cable Timeline atlantic-cable.com, retrieved 2018-08-05^