`Sea`ing is talking!
THE world's oceans and seas will soon become conduits for carrying conversations across major countries in what is being referred to as the 'information superhighway'. The us $1.5 billion project took off as the laying of the first stages of the FLAG (Fibreoptic Link Around the Globe) cable system took place recently off Palermo's coast in Sicily. The project will be completed in 1997 and involves the laying of the longest human-made cable, stretching 28,000 kin from Porthcurno in Cornwall, UK, to Miura in Japan via landing points in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The cable which consists of four glass-fibre strands each the thickness of a human hair, can carry 600,000 simultaneous conversations around the world. It is also heavily armoured so that it can escape both inquisitive sharks and deep sea fishing gear. Fibreoptic cables ensure increased security, speed, accuracy of transmission and advanced two-way transmission. The project is being built by the AT&T Submarine Systems, US, and KDD Submarine Cable Systems, Japan.