Cable Companies Seek Cost-Saving Alternatives Amid Red Sea Tensions

Cable operators are exploring alternatives to avoid a complete internet blackout in India amidst rising tensions in the Red Sea. Operators are eyeing multiple ways, including storing access and purchasing double the number of fibre pairs to protect data centres and cloud providers from rising costs. Additionally, cable providers, including Ooredoo and Zain, are exploring to lay cable along the sovereign land routes instead of the sea, the Economic Times reported. 

“There is a persistent risk we monitor closely, especially as the conflict in that part of the geography intensifies. Our reliance on the cable system is precarious, as an additional outage poses a significant challenge to its repairability,” group CEO and MD, Lightstorm, Amajit Gupta told ET. Lightstorm is a network infrastructure company. “Consequently, the prevailing consensus among cable operators is to opt for the terrestrial route via sovereign states,” Gupta added.

This comes around a time when India is the fastest growing submarine communication cable market in the Asia Pacific region and is projected to reach $78.6 million by 2030, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s data. 

The Red Sea, one of the busiest trade routes in the world, has become a battleground for Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The escalating tension has not just disrupted the smooth flow of trade but is also posing a threat to India’s internet economy as cable infrastructure built in the sea is exposed to risk. The increasing tensions are also giving rise to insurance costs to protect cables. Submarine vessels for repair and maintenance of the cables are reportedly being asked to pay ransom to enter the Red Sea region. 

The development has come around a time when Indian telecom giants like Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio have invested heavily to enhance India’s subsea cable ecosystem. In December last year, Airtel commissioned the Sea-Me-We 6 cable system. Additionally, the giant has investments in the longest subsea cable system in the world, 2Africa Pearls. Reliance Jio, on the other hand, is set to commission cable landings of India-Asia-Express and India-Europe-Express.