As of 2025, there are over 600 active and planned undersea internet cables spanning the globe. They collectively stretch more than 1. This visualization shows the growth of the undersea cable network, global internet peering capacity, and the distribution of IP addresses via BGP announcements over time. Use the controls at the top to play the animation or step through year by year. The total number of active cables is constantly changing as new cables enter service and older cables are decommissioned. 5 billion by 2030, driven by data centers, 5G, and IoT. Modern submarine cables use fiber-optic technology. Lasers on one end fire at extremely rapid rates.