Internet Disruption in Middle East and South Asia Due to Red Sea Cable Break

## Internet Disruptions in the Middle East and South Asia

Internet connectivity has faced significant disruptions across various countries in the Middle East and South Asia due to recent subsea cable breaks in the Red Sea region. This area has a history of similar issues, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities.

### Subsea Cable Failures

Network monitoring service Netblocks reported on social media platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon that failures affecting the SEA-ME-WE-4 and IMEWE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) cables near Jeddah have degraded internet services in several nations, including Pakistan and India. The UAE’s du and e& were also impacted, resulting in slower internet speeds and intermittent access.

In addition, Cloudflare Radar confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that users in the UAE and Pakistan were experiencing internet outages. Latency between key cities showed noticeable increases, with delays between Delhi and London spiking by 20% and a 30% rise between Mumbai and Frankfurt.

### Regional Responses

Reports from the Associated Press indicated that the government of Kuwait has also recognized disruptions linked to a cut on the FALCON GCX cable. Notably, all three mentioned cables have landing points in Jeddah.

In response to these challenges, Microsoft Azure acknowledged that network traffic in the Middle East might encounter increased latency due to the undersea fiber cuts. Though alternative routes have been developed, higher latency is still likely for traffic that previously relied on the affected cables.

### Historical Context and Future Considerations

This incident isn’t isolated; past cable failures along the same Red Sea route have shown that regions can suffer substantial connectivity impacts simultaneously. In February of the previous year, multiple cable systems were severed after an anchor drag, with subsequent failures reported along the coasts of East and West Africa.

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The rise in subsea cable outages has prompted organizations like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) to establish the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience. This initiative aims to enhance cable protection and resilience against future disruptions.

In February, the advisory body emphasized global collaboration to mitigate risks and encouraged diverse routes to improve internet connectivity continuity.

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How do you think the increasing reliance on subsea cables affects global internet connectivity?