The Old Cat's-Eye: A Hidden Link Between NYC and Beantown

Off the beaten path, in the sticks of Upstate New York, you'll stumble upon a hidden relic - a no-nonsense tower, not a tourist trap, but a remnant from the pre-fiber days. Before fiber-optics, satellite links, and even subsea cables came to be, this tower was part of the microwave network - a chain of towers and radio relay stations connecting American cities: New York and Boston. This cat's-eye was born in 1947 by none other than AT&T Long Lines division, a spin-off from the Bell System.

Fast forward to today, with fiber-optics ruling long-distance gab sessions, private microwave networks like this one are still kickin', especially among the high-speed Wall Street cats of New York and Boston - they dig its lower latency compared to the fiber bills' snooze-worthy sluggishness. So, if you fancy a leisurely hike off the grid in Upstate New York, give this ordinary tower a gander. It's a cat’s-eye, but it's one that once connected two American cities.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata