How does the internet work?

The internet is a vast, global network of interconnected computers that communicate using a standardized set of rules called protocols, allowing data to travel across wires and through the air to reach your device in milliseconds.

Physical infrastructure is key to this system. Most international data travels through massive fiber-optic cables laid across the ocean floor, connecting continents at the speed of light to keep the global network linked.

Data moves in small, independent chunks called packets. When you request a webpage, your file is broken into these pieces, sent via different paths, and reassembled by your device to display the final content perfectly.

Submarine cables vary greatly in length. Some are short hops between islands, while others, like the Asia-America Gateway, stretch over 12,000 miles, physically connecting continents across the vast, deep ocean floor.

Specialized ships carry massive spools of cable, slowly unspooling them into the sea. They use advanced plows to bury the lines in the seabed in shallow waters to protect them from anchors and fishing gear.

It is a series of segments connected by repeaters. These devices are spaced along the cable to amplify the signal, as light loses intensity while traveling through thousands of miles of glass fiber.

Every device has a unique IP address, acting like a digital home address. The Domain Name System (DNS) acts as a phonebook, translating human-readable web addresses into these complex numeric strings for the network.

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the internet's traffic controller. It tells data packets the most efficient path to take between different networks, ensuring information reaches its destination across the globe.

Data centers are the internet's physical heart. These massive facilities house thousands of servers that store the websites and apps we access, operating 24/7 to ensure data is always available to be sent to your device.

Despite our reliance on satellites and wireless tech, over 99% of all international data traffic travels through these undersea fiber-optic cables, proving the internet is fundamentally a physical, oceanic endeavor.