Clouds Under the Sea: Cable Hut 14 and the Birth of Global Communication

About

This evening event delves into the fascinating world of global communications, and the surprising link to one of Cuckmere Haven’s most enigmatic buildings. We are delighted to present: Clouds Under the Sea: Cable Hut 14 and the Birth of Global Communication

Before the 1850’s communication overseas had to be delivered by ship and hand, and took days if not weeks or months. Once the successful telegraph was established, the possibility of sending messages across the sea was the next step. It took a lot of trial and error along with financial backing to come up with the first successful under water cable.

From this grew an industry with widespread social and economic impacts. 99% of global data traffic still passes through the submarine cable network, and spans 1.3 million kilometres facilitating $10 trillion financial transactions every day. The cables carry everything from streaming videos and phone calls, to credit card and ATM transactions. All at the speed of light.

Kevin Gordon will tell the story of the early development of this fascinating industry, while Maziar Nekovee will explain where we are now what we can look forward to in the future. Professor Michael Davies will host the evening.

Kevin Gordon is a retired British Transport Police officer. He has a life-long interest in Sussex History and is a former trustee of Seaford Museum and Chairman of the Alfriston and Cuckmere Valley Historical Society. Kevin is an accredited Parliamentary Guide and author of several local history books. In 2017 he was appointed as the Honorary Historian for Seaford Town Council. Kevin currently serves on the committee of the Eastbourne Local History Society.

Maziar Nekovee is Managing Director of 6G Lab and Dean of the AI Institute at the University of Sussex Centre for Advanced Communications. Prior to his current post he was from 2013 to 2017 a Chief Engineer Head of Samsung’s UK and European Research and Collaborations in 5G mobile communications. Prior to joining Samsung, he was from 2001 to 2013 with BT Research and Innovation as a team leader and senior scientist. Maziar has a PhD in Physics from the University of Nijmegen and a first degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Delft University of Technology, both in the Netherlands.

Professor Michael Davies is the Chair of the Board of the Cuckmere Haven SOS trust. He is an emeritus professor at the University of Sussex having previously served as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University. He was formerly the Dean of Engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Deputy Principal, Dean of Engineering and Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Dundee. A Chartered Engineer with a specialism in geotechnical engineering, Professor Davies is a past Chairman of the British Geotechnical Association and Vice-President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. He is active in engineering research which he combines with being a trustee of a number of educational and professional charities.