What is the news?
The ongoing war between America, Israel and Iran has entered its third week. Instead of the war stopping, now another new concern is emerging. Iran has already closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil trade. Now there is concern that Iran may shut down the entire world’s Internet, because the fiber optic cables necessary for Internet are laid in Hormuz itself.
bab el mandeb
Houthis may also cut cables in Bab al-Mandeb
Apart from Hormuz, uncertainty is also being expressed regarding Bab al-Mandeb located in the Red Sea. There is a fear that Houthi rebels supporting Iran may also cut the internet cables passing through the sea here. These fiber-optic cables, laid across Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, carry almost all the data that powers the world’s internet, cutting them could disrupt everything from video calls and email to AI services.
About 20 internet cables in the Red Sea and Hormuz
There are at least 20 submarine cables in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Telecommunications, data center and digital infrastructure industry website Capacity Global According to , 17 cables pass through the Red Sea. They handle the largest share of Internet traffic connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. Important cables are also laid in Hormuz, which connect the Gulf countries to the markets and users of important continents like Asia and Africa.
India may also be affected
telegeography According to , the active cables in the Persian Gulf are AAE-1, FALCON, Gulf Bridge International Cable System and Tata-TGN Gulf. These lines directly support India’s overseas data connections. Experts say about a third of India’s western data traffic passes through networks that go through or near Hormuz. Systems like SEA-ME-WE 4, I-ME-WE and FALCON connect India to the global network through this region.
Cables cannot be repaired in current conditions
Recently, Gulf countries like United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have invested millions of dollars in AI. Big technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google have built their data centers in these countries. If these cables are cut, they are impossible to repair in view of the war. Speaking to Bloomberg Alan Mauldin of Telegeography said, “Cable ships will not operate in an active war zone, it is too risky.”
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