The Cable that Changed the World

The Cable that Changed the World: Cable sabotage isn't a new form of warfare, the Royal Navy cut Germany's Trans-Atlantic cable in 1914. I found out this fact in the fascinating documentary The Cable that Changed the World. It tells the epic story of the first transatlantic communications cable laid between Valentia Island, County Kerry, and Newfoundland, Canada 165 years ago. It was grueling task, many failures and and the US Civil War caused a hiatus before things were properly up and running. Lord Kelvin was involved in the project and finally tweaked issues about signal strength. In the early days it cost £1 a word to send a telegraph and the average wage of operators and engineers was the same as a bank manager. Narrated by Jessie Buckley and produced by RTÉ in partnership with University College Cork and Tyrone Productions, 'The Cable that Changed the World' features graphics, historical reconstructions and rarely seen archive footage. It's available on the RTE player. Written and Directed by Ruán Magan. 8/10.