On January 15, 2022, the island nation of Tonga lost its internet connection to the rest of the world. The eruption of a nearby underwater volcano severed the lone undersea internet cable connecting Tonga to Fiji. It took nearly five weeks for the cable to be repaired and for Tongans to regain high-speed connections. The disruption shined a light on the fragile and mostly unseen infrastructure that carries 99% of international data traffic and provides internet access around the world.
This map from geospatial analyst Jan Paul Miene highlights the global network of submarine cables that provide internet access. It relies on data from several sources to show the general path of these cables and internet penetration by country.
Through a series of scenes, the map shows the global network of cables as red lines. Thicker lines represent cables that span longer distances. Dots on the map show the connection points for the cables, known as landing stations. A light-to-dark blue color ramp shows internet penetration rates by country, with darker blues indicating a greater share of internet users per capita.
The map reveals internet penetration is high in countries in North America and Europe. Despite several landing stations, countries in Africa lag. You might also notice multiple lines and paths between the same continents, such as between North America and Europe. This redundancy is intended to provide resilient connectivity among nations with higher demand.
Miene notes that placing the cables is a delicate task that requires specialized ships and meticulous planning. This is one of the reasons why it took so long for Tonga’s access to be restored. There are also environmental concerns and impacts related to these cables. Since they rest on the seafloor, they can disturb marine ecosystems.
The world is more connected than ever, but not everyone has benefited equally. As the map shows, some places remain unconnected altogether. Others lack the domestic infrastructure to capitalize on their connections. While progress has been made, there are still gaps to address.
More to Explore
- Discover more of Miene’s maps.
- See how internet speeds vary around the globe.
- Take a deep dive into the digital divide in the US.
