This paper explores the use of the ‘ansible’, a transmission device coined by Ursula K. Le Guin and used by various characters across her collective science fiction works known as the ‘Hainish Cycle’. The first novel in this canon, ‘The Dispossessed’, explores the novel’s creation to allow instant communication between civilisations on different planets, as events within the novel lead to the creation of ‘The League of All Worlds’, which is a trade alliance made up of multiple nations across several planets, later renamed to Ekumen. Quicker communication using the ansible device does not solve cultural and societal misunderstandings between the different civilisations in Le Guin’s novels, as prejudice and conflict are still present between members of the League. Comparing the concept of the ansible to other science-fiction communication concepts in Le Guin’s novels, such as ‘Mindspeech’ featured in ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’, where speakers are unable to lie, questions the integrity of the ansible as a form of communication and the trustworthiness of those who use it. Several of Le Guin’s protagonists are envoys or are employed by organisations like the ‘League of All Worlds’, who continue to face communication problems that the ansible fails to address. These include language barriers and translation difficulties within The Word for World is Forest, as well as misconceptions of gender and cultural behaviours within The Left Hand of Darkness. In conclusion, despite the invention of instant communication technology to unify nations, it fails to address many problems within the Hainish Cycle canon and leaves individuals vulnerable to isolation and prejudice.