FEATURE
BEYOND BORDERS
Ensuring Resilience in Subsea Cable Infrastructure Amidst Geopolitical Challenges BY VINEET VERMA
I
t may not be something you think about when signing onto your favorite streaming services or hopping on a video call with someone who lives abroad, but the world’s connectivity hinges on the functionality of cables that run under the ocean, connecting the world through optical fiber. Recent events in many geographies have forced us to re-examine just how fragile this infrastructure can be, and how our business daily operations can be affected by events happening across the world. Subsea cables carry over 95% of international data traffic, serving as the backbone of the internet and telecommunications industry. When geopolitical tensions escalate in regions where these cables are laid, such as the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, or South China Sea, they become susceptible to deliberate attacks, accidental damage, or disruption caused by military activities and civil unrest. These disrup-
tions can lead to widespread outages, slowdowns, or even complete loss of connectivity, impacting businesses, governments, and individuals worldwide. Additionally, geopolitical threats can result in increased costs for cable maintenance, ultimately affecting the affordability — and thus accessibility — of internet services. Instability caused by geopolitical conflicts can deter investment in new cable projects or upgrades, hampering efforts to expand and improve global connectivity. To see a current example of this, let us look to the Red Sea. The unique geography of the Red Sea poses a significant challenge for subsea cable providers, forcing all underwater cables to pass through a narrow corridor through the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and Djibouti. This geographic constraint not only makes repairs and maintenance challenging but also potentially exposes half the MAY 2024 | ISSUE 136 67