"The Red Sea cuts spurred companies and governments to look for alternate routes, and the Strait of Hormuz seemed promising. Then the US and Israel attacked Iran, cable projects were halted, and now the world is looking elsewhere once again."
Most global data travels through submarine fiber optic cables that converge at a few ocean-floor chokepoints. The system has historically endured frequent cable breaks, with traffic rerouted until repair ships splice the damaged fibers. In 2024, a Houthi missile strike in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait caused a cargo ship to drift and drag its anchor across multiple submarine cables, disrupting connectivity. Repair required specialized ships and lengthy negotiations because splicing work cannot be safely performed in war zones. Additional cable severing later further disrupted internet traffic across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Attacks on Iran halted promising cable projects, prompting renewed interest in alternate routes, including one across the North Pole.
#submarine-fiber-optics #internet-infrastructure #geopolitical-risk #middle-east-conflict #alternate-cable-routes
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]