Red Sea cable cuts’ impact was ‘severely underestimated’

The firm says while it was reported the cuts affected 25% of Europe-Asia data traffic flow, its own network diagnostics and feedback from ISPs in South East Asia puts the real data traffic disruption closer to 70%.

HGC (formerly known as Hutchison Global Communications) said in February of the incident: “Among 15+ submarine cables in the Red Sea, 4 of them (Seacom, TGN, AAE-1, EIG) are cut which we estimated impact 25% of traffic… Around 15% of Asia traffic goes west-bound, while 80% of those traffic will pass through these submarine cables in the Red Sea.”

RETN is using this stat to hang a white paper on, which it describes as a call to action ‘to prioritise resilience, foster innovation, and ensure that the networks we build today support the demands of tomorrow.’

It argues that submarine cables and terrestrial networks are more vulnerable than ever to disruptions, that regulatory and supply chain challenges are ‘rife’, and so investments into network resilience must be prioritised. What it means by this is investing in diversified routes, and ‘embracing collaboration and an ability to constantly adapt to an ever-changing operating environment.’

It also says there is presently a heavy reliance on two main submarine cable systems – Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) and the SEA-ME-WE 5 (SMW-5) – for connectivity between Asia, Africa, and Europe, and both route through Egypt where cables cross from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through terrestrial paths. “Unfortunately, this routing creates single points of failure; as a result, disruptions in Egypt can have staggering consequences on global connectivity,” states the report.

“We are at a pivotal moment in network connectivity, and to be fully transparent, the industry is not equipped to meet current demands,” said Tony O’Sullivan, CEO of RETN. “With geopolitical events, natural disasters, cable cuts, design flaws, cybersecurity attacks and a shortage of new cables, we’re really not too far away from entire countries becoming digitally inaccessible when the one or two cables that connect them go down.

“Having the global infrastructure in place to overcome these challenges requires industry-wide investment, but that means a wide-reaching movement of prioritising customers over short-term gains. Undoubtedly, there are some key players with the power that can take actionable steps immediately to make a difference. I hope our white paper provides that impetus to all who read it, which should also underscore our commitment at RETN to building the resilient networks of the future.”

The report also notes that while other means of connectivity, such as satellites ‘can help plug gaps when subsea cable disruptions arise, they are not a silver bullet.’ It argues satellite networks provide temporary relief for essential services, but lack the capacity and dependability to replace the amount of data carried by subsea cables.

Overall the conclusions of the report centre around how vital it is to safeguard the subsea cables that connect the world together particularly in areas where geopolitical tensions are high, which even accounting for the fact that this just so happens to be the thing the firm trades in, seems a sturdy enough point to make.