1858 trans-Atlantic cable route

Most of us think the ability to quickly communicate with someone on another continent is all part of the explosion in technology of the last decade or two. But the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was completed on July 27, 1866, when the ship Great Eastern finished laying a cable from Ireland to Newfoundland.

It cost $1 to send a message — at a time when the average wage was about $20 a month.

Now, in spite of satellites, international telephone service still largely depends on cables, but they are made of high-capacity fiber optics.

Americans make more than 29 million international calls every day — both for personal conversation and for linking computers.