I came to the comments section to make sure this article was posted, it's such a fantastic read. If you read it and are hungry for more, check out "How the World Was One" by Arthur C. Clarke. It's a fascinating history of telecommunications with a large focus on submarine cables.

https://www.amazon.com/How-World-Was-Arthur-Clarke/dp/055307...

I'd also recommend "How the world was one" ( http://www.amazon.com/How-World-Was-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0553074... )

It does an astonishingly good job of describing how networks evolved and why the function as they do today (as of mid-90's - not much has changed AFAICT).