History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

1868 Malta - Alexandria Cable

In 1868 Daniel Gooch replaced John Pender as Chairman of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Telcon), as Pender was now engaged in forming a group of companies which would link all parts of the world to Britain. The 1868 Malta - Alexandria cable was the first cable to be ordered for this network, its owner being the Anglo-Mediterranean Telegraph Company.

The cable was manufactured by Telcon and laid by Scanderia and Chiltern, commencing on 26 September 1868 at Malta. Traffic on the cable was so heavy that a duplicate was laid in 1870.

The conductor consisted of seven copper wires, insulated by three layers of gutta percha, and finished with a layer of hemp and 18 armouring wires. The cable length was 943 nm.

Information from Haigh, illustration from Schellen.

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