I was thinking the same. I've been involved with a few undersea cables and all were a lot thicker once the armouring was on. They were for the North Sea so had to withstand trawls (and even burying or rock dumping meant they needed a fair amount of protection) - I don't suppose the risks are the same under the Atlantic but, even so, that looks quite lightweight. My first thought was that it was just the dragline in the photos. The actual signal cores would be quite small and I guess the cable technology has moved on. Besides, the thinner you can make it, the more you can spool, so less expensive to install. It comes down to balancing risk and cost.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
