How subsea cable cuts put spotlight on Internet resilience

Whether from unintentional damage (common) or seemingly intentional sabotage (less common), risks to the subsea fiber optic cables that power global Internet connectivity are on the rise. The vulnerability of such cables is a growing concern. According to the site TeleGeography, there are more than 1.48 million kilometers of submarine cables spanning the world's seas and oceans, and more than 600 active and planned submarine cables overall. Work recently started on the new, 12,500-kilometer E2A submarine cable system, connecting parts of Asia and the US, which is a collaboration between Chunghwa Telecom, SK Broadband, SoftBank and Verizon Business Global. The proliferation of subsea fiber optic cables, paired with increasing accidents and attacks, highlights the urgent need for resilient and redundant Internet infrastructure.