The first fibre-optic cable ever laid across an ocean, the historic TAT-8, is being pulled from the Atlantic seabed after lying dormant for more than two decades. The cable will be recycled in South Africa. However, TAT-8 was eventually taken out of operation in 2002 after it experienced an unrepairable fault — unrepairable because it was simply too expensive to fix. It was constructed in 1988 by a consortium of companies led by AT&T Corporation, France. Crews recovering the first transatlantic fiber-optic system, TAT-8, are bringing up repeaters, steel "fish-bite" armor, and copper power conductors, all of which are now being dismantled and processed through modern recycling facilities. TAT-8 was the eighth Trans-Atlantic Telephone system and the. In 1988, when it was initially installed, the TAT-8 was the very first undersea fiber optic cable.
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