Improving Diversity of Subsea Cables

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology; Infrastructure

Context

• Submarine cable networks are constantly expanding, evolving, and being reconfigured to meet the exponential growth in data demands.

About Submarine Cable Networks

• Subsea cables (akasubmarine communications cables) are fiber-optic cables laid on the ocean floor to carry digital data between continents.
  • They consist of optical fibers, copper or aluminum sheathing, steel wire armor, and polyethylene coating.
• These cables form the core infrastructure of the global Internet, transmitting more than 99% of international digital communication including Internet, phone, and financial transactions.

Global Subsea Network

• The world hosts over 550 active and planned subsea cable systems, spanning more than 1.5 million kilometers, enough to circle the Earth nearly 40 times.
• They carry more than 6,400 Terabits per second (TBPS) of global digital information, and they remain faster, cheaper, and more reliable for high-volume data transfer despite the rise of satellites.
  • At intervals of 50–100 km, repeater stations (amplifiers) boost the optical signal to maintain speed and integrity over long distances.
• Major global cable systems include:
  • SEA-ME-WE 6 (Southeast Asia–Middle East–Western Europe)
  • Marea (US to Spain, backed by Microsoft and Meta)
  • Dunant (US.to France, built by Google)
  • Equiano (Portugal to South Africa, by Google)
  • 2Africa Project (Africa’s largest cable system, by Meta and partners)

Subsea Cables and India

• India is a major hub in the global subsea cable network, with 18 operational systems and four more in development. The primary Cable Landing Stations (CLS) are located in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kochi.
• Key upcoming developments include:
  • Visakhapatnam Open CLS, a carrier-neutral landing station being developed as a future regional hub.
  • Island CLS expansion, connecting Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep to the mainland through BSNL’s local loop networks.
• These initiatives aim to improve redundancy, resilience, and network diversity for India’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

Why Subsea Cables Matter?

• Economic Backbone: Every international digital service, from banking to cloud storage depends on subsea connectivity.
• Latency Advantage: Optical fiber cables transmit data faster and with lower delay than satellites.
• Security and Resilience: Redundant routes and diverse CLS locations reduce risks from natural or human-induced disruptions.
• National Strategy: Countries view subsea cables as critical information infrastructure, essential for digital sovereignty and defense.

Challenges and Vulnerabilities

• Concentration Risks: The concentration of global subsea (undersea) cable infrastructure in a small number of geographic chokepoints is a strategic vulnerability for the modern digital world.
  • Their geographic clustering creates risks across digital sovereignty, economic resilience, and national security.
  • Key chokepoints include the Suez Canal / Red Sea corridor, Strait of Malacca, English Channel, and Cable Landing Clusters (CLS) in places like Singapore, Egypt, and Marseille.
  • A single physical disruption in these areas can affect dozens of countries simultaneously.
• Digital Sovereignty At Risk: Digital sovereignty refers to a state’s ability to control and protect its data, communications, and digital infrastructure. Key issues:
  • Foreign Ownership & Control: Many cables are owned or operated by multinational consortia or large tech firms, limiting national oversight.
  • Jurisdictional Exposure: Data often transits through countries with different legal regimes, surveillance laws, or intelligence alliances.
  • Dependence Asymmetry: Smaller or developing nations rely heavily on infrastructure located in or controlled by a few hub states.
• CLS Vulnerabilities: Natural disasters, anchor drags, or deliberate sabotage at a single point can cause widespread disruptions.
  • For digital economies like India and Australia, diversification of cable routes is essential for national security and economic stability.
• National Security Implications: These include:
  • Espionage: Cables can be tapped for intelligence gathering.
  • Hybrid warfare: Damage to cables can occur in ‘gray zone’ conflicts—below the threshold of open war.
  • Attribution difficulty: It is often unclear whether damage is accidental, criminal, or state-sponsored.
  • Military dependence: Armed forces rely heavily on civilian-owned cable networks for logistics and communications.

• Economic Vulnerabilities:
  • Single-point failures: Cable breaks (from anchors, earthquakes, or sabotage) can slow or sever connectivity.
  • Repair delays: Fixing cables can take weeks, especially in deep water or contested regions.
  • Cascading effects: Even temporary latency spikes can disrupt stock exchanges, payment systems, and cross-border business operations.
• Other concerns include natural hazards such as earthquakes or undersea landslides, accidental damage from fishing trawlers or ship anchors, and geopolitical risks, including sabotage or espionage.

Policy and Security Initiatives

• In India, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in its report on ‘Licensing Framework and Regulatory Mechanism for Submarine Cable Landing’, recommended granting Critical Information Infrastructure status to subsea cables to enhance their protection.
  • The forthcoming National Telecommunications Policy 2025 reiterates the same emphasis on security and resiliency.
• Similarly, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has established a Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre to promote regional collaboration and build technical capacity across the Indo-Pacific.

Building a Resilient Future: Diversity by Design

• Submarine cable systems are the lifelines of the digital economy, yet their security and resilience have long been underestimated.
• As the world becomes more dependent on seamless connectivity, India and Australia have an opportunity and a responsibility to lead in building redundant, secure, and diverse submarine networks.
• The principle of ‘diversity by design’ needs to guide future cable deployments, ensuring that these vital conduits of digital communication continue to support the world’s societies, economies, and security systems without interruption.

Source: BL