In early September 2025, many undersea fiber-optic cables in the red sea were cut once again, which has shaken the digital lifelines of Asia and Middle east. This incident caused widespread internet outages in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait which faced slow network connectivity. For many this crisis exposed how fragile global connectivity can get and how it gets escalated into high business risks.
Despite the innovations in AI, 5G, wireless and satellite networks, over 95% of global internet traffic is still dependent on thousands of kilometers of fibre hidden under the oceans. The Red Sea serves as the most important transit point between Asia and Europe. Any disruption here can jeopardize global economic and operational stability.
In this blog we will explore what happened to the Red Sea and why it is important for digital connectivity.
What Exactly Happened ?
The outage was traced to simultaneous fibre cuts near Jeddah which consisted of 4 major cables: SMW4, FALCON, IMEWE and GCX. Enterprises experienced slow network connectivity to cloud platforms and unexpected glitches as carriers shifted data to alternative routes. Microsoft Azure stepped in to reroute the traffic to stabilize services but could not prevent delays due to peak usage along with high latency.
Why Does The Red Sea Matter?
Here are some of the key reasons why Red Sea is important:
- The Red Sea functions as a digital connectivity point which carries a large amount of internet traffic that connects Europe and Asia through the Suez canal and Bab-el mandeb strait.
- It has only a few alternative subsea cables, which makes it a concentrated high risk zone.
- Any cuts or damages of cables in the Red Sea slows down cloud, banking, and ecommerce operations across the world.
- Red Sea resilience is essential for digital globalization.
Causes of Red Sea Undersea Cable Cuts
Here’s a closer look at some of the key causes of Red Sea Undersea cable cuts:
- As per John Wrottesley of the International Cable Protection Committee commercial shipping activity is the likely cause of damage.
- 30% of cuts are caused by the high density of cargo shipping and may result in accidental anchor cuts which account for roughly 60 faults per year.
- Congested shipping routes near Jeddah could turn cables into risky positions.
- Natural wear and tear over the years may weaken the cable strength.
- Strong currents or underwater landslides can cause damage to the cables.
What are the Challenges of Red Sea Undersea Cables Disasters
There are multiple challenges of Red Sea Undersea cables. Here’s a breakdown of some of them.
- Identifying whether the cable breaks were intentional or accidental is difficult to determine.
- Military activity in the region often hampers the inspection and repair work.
- Coordinating multinational repairs consists of logistical and legal hurdles.
- Sea and weather conditions may delay deep sea operations.
- Restoring cables to full capacity usually takes weeks resulting in prolonged digital disruption.
Lessons and Precautions
Increasing digital dependency requires a future proof approach to prevent slowdowns. Here are some lessons and precautions to keep in mind.
Diversification of Routes
The continuous cable failure necessitates diversification of subsea routes. It is essential because it helps prevent overconcentration of important corridors. Apart from this, backup routing ensures that data can be routed quickly during the outages which minimizes increase in latency and slowdowns.
Self-Reliance over Infrastructure and Diversity of Suppliers
Increased reliance on international suppliers and vessels for cable laying and repairs has resulted in significant strategic risks. Besides this, their cables in exclusive economic zones have led to lengthy repair times and exposure. Diversity of suppliers encourages innovation and reduces monopoly over building the infrastructure.
New Governance Models
The subsea cable has multiple jurisdictions which makes international legal cooperation necessary. So, strong multilateral and bilateral agreements can help fasten the approval process which prevents sabotage. As per Carnegie Endowment, the governance models need to change to alleviate emerging threats like cyber intrusion.
Implementation of New Technologies
To make cable infrastructure durable and future proof, the implementation of satellite infrastructure, AI based fault detection services and software is essential. With these implementations, it becomes easy to identify root causes and manage traffic rerouting.
Conclusion
The Red Sea cable cut is a stark reminder of how fragile the global digital connectivity is. With submarine cables still being the major source of a large portion of global data movement, Red Sea serves as a strategic asset that requires policy reset, infrastructure and supplier overhaul and technological advancement to build long term resilience.
