When was the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable linking North America and Europe completed?

Question

When was the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable linking North America and Europe completed?

Answer 1

While the idea of a trans-Atlantic telephone cable goes back to earlier times, following the success of telegraph cables, the first successful such link to go into commercial service was TAT-1 in 1956.  Prior to that, trans-Atlantic telephony was carried by shortwave radio links.    TAT-1 initially had the capacity for 36 simultaneous telephone conversations, although it was expanded to 48 channels by the time it was abandoned over 20 years later.  That was a conventional metallic cable though.

The first FIBER-OPTIC trans-Atlantic telephone link wasn't until 1988 when TAT-8 went into service, with a capacity of around 40,000 channels.

Answer 2

The first transatlantic cables were laid by Brunels Great Eastern ship after it was converted for the job. They do just lay on the ocean floor, but they did have problems with the cable breaking and getting snagged, I think it took a couple of attempts to lay the first cable. There are also cables that emerge at Porthcurno in Cornwall that connected the commonwealth to its colonies and India.

   :

    * Transatlantic telegraph cable, mid 1800s

    * Transatlantic telephone cable, 1920s