Experts reported on Sunday that undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea have disrupted internet access in parts of Asia and West Asia, including India. The cause of the incident is not yet clear. There have been concerns that the cables could be a target for Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been conducting a campaign in the Red Sea to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas. However, the Houthis have previously denied responsibility for similar incidents.
Degraded internet connectivity
NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet access, stated that "a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries," including India and Pakistan. The organisation attributed the issues to "failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia".
The South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SMW4) cable is operated by Tata Communications, an Indian conglomerate. The India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) cable is managed by a consortium overseen by Alcatel-Lucent. Neither company has responded to requests for comment.
No official acknowledged
Authorities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have not officially acknowledged the disruption, although internet users in the UAE on the state-owned Du and Etisalat networks have reported slower speeds. Microsoft also announced on its status website that West Asia "may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea." The company noted that internet traffic not routed through the region "is not impacted."
Broader context and recent events
The cable cuts occurred amid a series of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeting Israel over the Israel-Hamas war. In response, Israel has conducted airstrikes that have killed top rebel leaders.
In early 2024, Yemen's government-in-exile accused the Houthis of planning to attack undersea cables in the Red Sea. Although several cables were cut, the Houthis denied responsibility. On Sunday morning, the Houthis' al-Masirah news channel acknowledged that the recent cuts had taken place.
Inputs from PTI
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