Internet services have been disrupted across large swaths of Asia, Europe and the Middle East due to damage to undersea cables to major providers in those regions.
Hong Kong telecom HGC Global Communications issued a statement saying that as much as 25% of traffic in the region was affected. The company is currently rerouting traffic to minimize disruption and “providing assistance to affected businesses.”
There are more than 15 undersea Internet cables in the Red Sea. In an earlier statement, HGC said it was “extremely rare” for four units to be damaged simultaneously.
Cable outages did not disconnect any country from the internet, but “Wall Street Journal” reports Service has dropped significantly in parts of India, Pakistan and East Africa.
There is currently no reason for any service provision cuts. Yemen’s telecommunications ministry denied speculation it was responsible for the outage, explain It is “keen to keep all telecommunications submarine cables … free from any possible risk.”
Underwater cables are responsible for the majority of Internet data traffic. They are cheaper than land-based cables but are easily damaged by ship anchors.
Still, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have experts curious about the timing and severity of the outage. The Iran-based Houthis have been particularly aggressive in the Red Sea, including in mid-February when a cargo ship was abandoned by its crew after a Houthi attack. The ship, which had weighed anchor, drifted for weeks before sinking.
Houthi control of the region and ongoing conflict in Yemen have complicated repairs to damaged cables. One of the four companies affected said it expected to start the process early in the second quarter, although licensing issues, weather and the country’s civil war could affect the process.