Every time you visit a web page or send an email, data is being sent and received through an intricate cable system that ... of thousands of miles of fiber optic cables constantly transmitting ...

An curved arrow pointing right. Computer science Professor Paul Barford and a team of researchers recently published the first publicly available map of the US's long-haul fiber-optic cable network.

The downside of fiber-optic cables is that they are more expensive than coaxial cables, and laying new lines is a logistical challenge. As a result, cable internet boasts far greater availability ...