How Strait of Hormuz crisis threatens subsea cables critical to India's internet

Are the subsea cables under threat amid the Iran war?

Tehran last week warned that the cables in the Strait of Hormuz could cripple the region’s economy and devastate the internet across the world.

The fibre-optic cables have been laid across the seabed of the strait. They link countries like India and others in Asia to Europe via the Gulf states and Egypt.

Why are they so vital?

These fibre-optic or electrical cables transfer data and power. They account for 99 per cent of the world's internet traffic, according to the ITU, the United Nations specialised agency for digital technologies. They also transmit telecommunications and electricity between countries, and are essential for cloud services and online communications.

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"Damaged cables mean the internet slowing down or outages, e-commerce disruptions, delayed financial transactions … and economic fallout from all of these disruptions," said geopolitical and energy analyst Masha Kotkin.

Gulf countries, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have ploughed billions of dollars into artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure in an attempt to diversify away from oil economies. Both nations have established national AI companies serving customers across the region — all reliant on undersea cables to move data at lightning speed.

The flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit displayed Kuwait City. The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. File image/AFP

Major cables through the Strait of Hormuz include the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), connecting Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt, with landing points in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia; the FALCON network, connecting India and Sri Lanka to Gulf countries, Sudan, and Egypt; and the Gulf Bridge International Cable System, linking all Gulf countries including Iran. Additional networks are under construction, including a system led by Qatar's Ooredoo.

What are the biggest risks?

While the total length of submarine cables has grown considerably between 2014 and 2025, faults have remained stable at around 150–200 incidents per year, according to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC). State-sponsored sabotage remains a risk, but 70–80 per cent of faults are caused by accidental human activities — primarily fishing and ship anchors, according to the ICPC and experts.

The stunning loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC and OPEC+ member, could sow disarray and weaken the energy-producing bloc. Other risks include undersea currents, earthquakes, subsea volcanoes, and typhoons, said Alan Mauldin, research director at telecom research firm TeleGeography. The industry addresses these by burying cables, armouring them, and selecting safe routes, he said.

The Iran war, nearing the two-month mark, has brought unprecedented disruption to global energy supply and regional infrastructure, including hits to Amazon Web Services data centres in Bahrain and the UAE. Subsea cables have been spared so far.

However, an indirect risk exists from damaged vessels inadvertently hitting cables by dragging anchors.

"In a situation of active military operations, the risk of unintentional damage increases, and the longer this conflict lasts, the higher the likelihood of unintentional damage," Kotkin said. A similar incident occurred in 2024, when a commercial vessel attacked by Iran-aligned Houthis drifted in the Red Sea and severed cables with its anchor.

A subsea cable is a long, insulated fibre-optic cable laid on the seabed to carry internet data, telecommunications, or electricity between countries and continents. (AI Image)

The degree to which damage to the cables might impact connectivity in Gulf countries depends largely on how much individual network operators rely on them and what alternatives they have, according to TeleGeography.

Repairing damaged cables in conflict zones poses a separate challenge to securing them. While the physical repair itself is not overly complicated, decisions by repair vessel owners and insurers may also be impacted by the risk of damage from fighting or the presence of mines, experts say.

Permits to access territorial waters add another layer of difficulty. "Often one of the biggest problems with doing repairs is that you have to get permits into the waters where the damage is. That can take a long time sometimes and can be the biggest source of problems," Mauldin said.

Once the conflict ends, industry players will also face the challenge of re-surveying the sea floor to determine safe cable positions and avoid ships or objects that may have sunk during hostilities, he said.

Are there any substitutes?

Not really.

Experts say satellite systems cannot replace them. This is because they cannot handle the same volume of traffic and are more expensive.

Experts say satellite systems cannot replace subsea cables. AI Image

"It's not as though you could just switch to satellite. That's not an alternative," Mauldin said, noting that satellites rely on connections to land-based networks and are better suited for things in motion, like aeroplanes and ships.

Low-Earth-orbit networks such as Starlink are "a boutique solution, which is not scalable to millions of users at this time," Kotkin added. Many will be praying that the undersea cables do not become a casualty of the Iran war.

FAQs

1. Why are subsea cables in the Strait of Hormuz so important?

Subsea fibre-optic cables carry around 99 per cent of the world’s internet traffic and are essential for global communications, financial transactions, and cloud services. The Strait of Hormuz is a key route linking Asia, including India, to Europe via the Gulf and Egypt.

2. Are the cables currently under threat due to the Iran war?

There is no confirmed damage so far, but risks remain high. Experts say military activity increases the chances of accidental damage, such as ships dragging anchors or drifting vessels severing cables.

3. Can satellites replace subsea cables if they are damaged?

No, satellites cannot fully replace subsea cables. They are more expensive and cannot handle the same volume of data. Current systems like low-Earth-orbit networks cannot support global internet demand.

With inputs from agencies