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. The 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 Novia Scotia. The project has been made possible only by the development of submerged repeaters containing long-life valves and other components, and these are described, as is the American experimental work which 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 one-way cables nearly 2000 nautical miles long, connecting Newfoundland with Scotland. Newfoundland will be connected to Nova Scotia by a single cable containing 16 both-way repeaters of British design evolved from those which have been extensively used for schemes in home waters.