The Undersea Network

Nicole Starosielski

Mar 2015 · Duke University Press

About this ebook

In our "wireless" world it is easy to take the importance of the undersea cable systems for granted, but the stakes of their successful operation are huge, as they are responsible for carrying almost all transoceanic Internet traffic. In The Undersea Network Nicole Starosielski follows these cables from the ocean depths to their landing zones on the sandy beaches of the South Pacific, bringing them to the surface of media scholarship and making visible the materiality of the wired network. In doing so, she charts the cable network's cultural, historical, geographic and environmental dimensions. Starosielski argues that the environments the cables occupy are historical and political realms, where the network and the connections it enables are made possible by the deliberate negotiation and manipulation of technology, culture, politics and geography. Accompanying the book is an interactive digital mapping project, where readers can trace cable routes, view photographs and archival materials, and read stories about the island cable hubs.

Ratings and reviews

Up until now, we've only had distillations of the laying of the Atlantic Cable, in one form or another. And countless books on radio. And Satellite. Wire started the communications revolution. Radio, and later Satellite, came next. But the thirst for bandwidth, and the realities of Shannon's Law told the Truth about the End Game: You simply can't shove enough data into a radio circuit. And so the Glass Wire has carried the day.

About the author

Nicole Starosielski is Assistant Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University.