CSN-1, developed by Telconet in collaboration with Alcatel Submarine Networks, is a high-capacity fiber optic system that connects the west coast of Florida (USA) with Panama, Ecuador, and Colombia, through a route of approximately 4,500km (2,796 miles). The Colombian branch, which reaches Playa. From Daniel Colladon's 1841 demonstration of light guidance in water to recent advances empowering multi-terabit infrastructure, researchers continuously pushed the boundaries of optical communication. Early steps like total internal reflection concepts and the first glass fibers set the stage. Elias Snitzer and Will Hicks of American Optical demonstrate a laser beam directed through a thin glass fiber. Charles Kao of Standard Telephone and Cables (UK) reveals on how to make low loss fiber suitable for communications. TAT-8 was the 8th transatlantic communications cable and first transatlantic fiber-optic cable, carrying 280 Mbit/s (40,000 telephone circuits) between the United States, United Kingdom and France. It was constructed in 1988 by a consortium of companies led by AT&T Corporation, France. Gutta-percha, the adhesive juice of the Palaquium gutta tree, was introduced to Europe by William Montgomerie, a Scottish surgeon in the service of the British East India Company.
