Page 26 - Zenith2024

Zenith 2024

Space Internet:

The next leap for mankind?

How does the internet function? Where do all these vast platforms of information and sources of media
come from? Well, most of you might think the internet comes from space, but actually, believe it or not, the
internet comes from the ocean. Yes, the vast ocean that we all know of. Its actually quite surprising;
we use words like upload, or download from the cloud when really, we’re downloading from
underneath. For internet to come from space, the original technology used was that
of communication satellites. But, right now the fastest and cheapest method for
accessing the internet is through fiber cables in the ocean. But what if all that could
change? In this article, I’ll be diving deep into the new possibility of an innovation
that may change society forever; the Space Internet.

Even more surprising than the fact that the internet is underwater is the
way the data from computers, those binary 1s and 0s, are transmitted.
What’s really happening under the oceans is that computer data (when
connected forms the
internet) is transmitted
as flashes of light. Yes,
our internet, all of our
data on the cloud and
on our smart devices
come from flashes of
light. It’s crazy to think
about it; every form of
media, every form of information you ever saw on a screen was actually
transmitted through as flashes of light.

Internet cabling companies lay enough cable to reach the bottom of the ocean
floor, which is why they try to avoid those places that are deepest. And the vast
network of these cables, as shown on the above map shows us just how developed
our communications environment and networks have become. All that data, traveling as
flashes.

Sticking with the topic of underwater internet telecommunications, the bandwidth of a cable
determines how much information, how much data can travel per interval. The latency determines how long
the cable is, and you can tell that a cable with high bandwidth and low latency proves to be the fastest and
most efficient source of internet. In space, up until now, we used what called telecommunications satellites,
which were first deployed in the early 60s. Instead of transmitting data as flashes of light, the data is
transferred into radio waves; adjusting the frequency and amplitude of the radio waves differs the codes of
data being transmitted. However, since the data needs to travel up into the sky and then back down again,

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