{"id":85595,"date":"2026-09-26T17:57:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=85595"},"modified":"2026-09-26T17:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:28:13","slug":"subsea-cables-digital-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-09-2026\/subsea-cables-digital-economy","title":{"rendered":"Subsea Cables: Securing the Backbone of the Digital Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Science and Technology; Infrastructure&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent suspected cable-sabotage incidents in the Arctic and Baltic have brought renewed attention to the vulnerability of submarine cables, the physical backbone of global digital connectivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-06-2026\/submarine-cables-2\"><strong>Subsea Cables<\/strong><\/a><strong> &amp; Their Distribution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Subsea cables are <strong>fibre-optic cables<\/strong> laid on the ocean floor that connect countries andcontinents .\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They carry <strong>more than 99% of international data traffic<\/strong>, making them indispensable to the functioning of the global digital economy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The network has historically been built through consortiums of telecom companies, cable operators and technology firms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, <strong>hyperscalers<\/strong> (large technology and cloud-service companies) are increasingly investing directly in cable systems because of rapidly rising data and AI-related bandwidth requirements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The supply side is also concentrated. <strong>Alcatel Submarine Networks (France), SubCom (US) and NEC (Japan)<\/strong> are the principal manufacturers and together account for a very large share of the world&#8217;s deployed submarine cable infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e6e6e8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1023\" height=\"804\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-206.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-85596\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e6e6e8; aspect-ratio:1.2723959196232042;width:566px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-206.png 1023w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-206-300x236.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-206-768x604.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 1023px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Subsea Cables<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Backbone of the Digital Economy: <\/strong>International banking, financial transactions, cloud services, e-commerce, government communication and everyday digital services depend heavily on submarine cables.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic Infrastructure: <\/strong>A damaged cable can reduce or interrupt international connectivity for an affected region, with consequences for businesses, governments and citizens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enabler of AI and Data Economy: <\/strong>The expansion of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data centres is increasing demand for high-capacity, low-latency international connections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Importance for Small Island States: <\/strong>For many small island and geographically isolated economies, dependence on a few cable links creates a significant <strong>single-point-of-failure risk<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cable resilience is therefore closely linked with economic and social resilience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Fibre-Optic Cables<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These are communication cables that carry information on <strong>very fine strands of glass or plastic fibre.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The data is transformed into <strong>light pulses<\/strong> and transferred down the cable via the principle of <strong>total internal reflection (TIR)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fibre optics can transmit data using light, allowing <strong>very high data-transfer speeds<\/strong> and a <strong>broad bandwidth<\/strong>. It makes fibre optics ideal for Internet and telephony.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fibre has <strong>low attenuation<\/strong> thus signals can be sent over long distances. Optical amplifiers\/repeaters are used on long distances in undersea cables to boost the signal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c2cacf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c2cacf;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-211-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-85601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-211-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-211-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-211-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-211.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Are Subsea Cables Vulnerable?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Physical Damage: <\/strong>Much of the cable damage is due to fishing activity, ship anchors, earthquakes, landslides and other marine action.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sabotage and Hybrid Threats: <\/strong>Recent incidents in the Baltic Sea and in the adjacent waters have raised worries of deliberate meddling.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The difficulty of attribution makes underwater infrastructure desirable for <strong>grey zone or hybrid activities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concentrated Repair Capacity: <\/strong>Repair of an undersea cable requires specialised vessels, equipment and qualified people.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Limited worldwide repair capacity can extend outages following an incident.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supply-Chain Concentration: <\/strong>Reliance on a few manufacturers and specialised service providers represents strategic risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Sovereignty: T<\/strong>he landing stations and the network infrastructure itself have larger consequences for <strong>digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy<\/strong> while content of cables is not automatically readable in general, whether encrypted or secured, the management of their routes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India: Subsea Cables &amp; Building Resilience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is an important node in the <strong>Indo-Pacific submarine-cable network,<\/strong> with international cables coming ashore on its west and east coastlines.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Submarine Networks<\/strong> database provides details of India&#8217;s cable systems and landing stations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s growing digital economy makes uninterrupted international connectivity strategically important.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the same time, concentration of cable landings, dependence on foreign specialised equipment and limited domestic repair capacity create vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India should therefore develop <strong>indigenous cable repair and maintenance capabilities<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faster regulatory clearances are equally important because delays in permissions can discourage investment in specialised repair infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d9d6d7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"955\" height=\"915\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-207.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-85597\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d9d6d7; aspect-ratio:1.0437213636716627;width:508px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-207.png 955w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-207-300x287.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-207-768x736.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 955px) 100vw, 955px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India needs a <strong>\u2018redundancy &#8211; resilience &#8211; rapid repair\u2019<\/strong> strategy to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>diversify cable routes and landing locations;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>strengthen domestic repair vessels and skilled manpower;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>establish a coordinated national mechanism for cable monitoring and incident response;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>improve cooperation among the <strong>Navy, Coast Guard, telecom authorities and private operators<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>promote public-private investment in cable infrastructure; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>deepen cooperation with Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific partners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/undersea-cable-sabotage-subsea-internet-infrastructure-explained-10892228\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>Context<\/p>\n<p> <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Recent suspected cable-sabotage incidents in the Arctic and Baltic have brought renewed attention to the vulnerability of submarine cables, the physical backbone of global digital connectivity.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>About Subsea Cables &#038; Their Distribution<\/p>\n<p><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Subsea cables are fibre-optic cables laid on the ocean floor that connect countries andcontinents .<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>They carry more than 99% of international data traffic, making them indispensable to the functioning of the global digital economy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-09-2026\/subsea-cables-digital-economy\"   class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85595"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85603,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85595\/revisions\/85603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}