"Operators face a choice: pay protection fees and accept Iranian licensing over Middle East Gulf seabed activity, or accept that future faults may go unrepaired indefinitely. A single transoceanic cable system costs between $300 million and $1 billion to deploy. The expected value of an Iranian protection fee, from Tehran's perspective, is structured to sit well below that."
"The Strait of Hormuz has already been a no-go region for repair ships since the conflict began early this year-and new cable projects have also been halted. In March, the French state-owned company Alcatel Submarine Networks notified customers that it could not fulfill ongoing contracts due to one of its main cable-laying ships being stranded near Saudi Arabia, according to Bloomberg. That led to the suspension of a Meta-backed undersea cable project aimed at expanding internet service across Africa."
"All this has spurred efforts by US tech companies and Gulf countries to develop overland routes for Internet cables that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rest of World. But the independent projects originated by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates represent competing efforts rather than regional coordination-and overland cable projects can face their own geopolitical complications with planned routes through countries such as Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Ethiopia."
"Most major US tech companies involved in the AI data center buildout have bought into a scheme to channel data through fiber-optic cables that run along protected oil and gas pipeline routes, from the southern end of Iraq to the Turkish border and beyond to Europe, the Rest of World reported. Once completed, the overland project by IQ Networks, an Iraqi telecom company, would provide a direct overland fiber link between the Gulf and Europe."
Operators face a dilemma over repairing and deploying transoceanic undersea cable systems in the Middle East Gulf. Repair activity around the Strait of Hormuz has become a no-go area for repair ships, and new cable projects have been halted. A stranded cable-laying ship near Saudi Arabia disrupted ongoing contracts for Alcatel Submarine Networks, leading to suspension of a Meta-backed undersea cable project. In response, US tech companies and Gulf countries are pursuing overland fiber routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are pursuing independent projects that may lack coordination and can encounter geopolitical obstacles along routes through Syria, Iraq, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Big Tech also supports fiber links that follow protected oil and gas pipeline corridors from southern Iraq to Turkey and onward to Europe, including an overland link planned by IQ Networks.
Read at Ars Technica
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