Experts revealed on Sunday that internet access in certain regions of Asia and the Middle East was disrupted due to undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea. The cause of the incident was not immediately determined.
Speculation arose about the cables being deliberately targeted in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The rebels claimed it was a move to pressure Israel to cease its conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, the Houthis have previously denied any involvement in attacking the cables.
Undersea cables, a critical component of the internet infrastructure, were affected by the disruption. Internet service providers typically have backup routes to reroute traffic in case of failures, although this may result in slower access for users.
Microsoft issued a statement through a status website alerting that the Middle East might experience delays in internet connectivity due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea. The technology giant did not provide further details but assured that internet traffic bypassing the Middle East remained unaffected.
NetBlocks, a monitoring organization for internet access, reported that several undersea cable outages in the Red Sea had led to degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries, including India and Pakistan. The disruptions were attributed to failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 cable is managed by Tata Communications, a part of an Indian conglomerate. Another consortium overseen by Alcatel-Lucent manages the India-Middle East-Western Europe cable. Both companies did not respond immediately to requests for comments.
Pakistan Telecommunications Co. Ltd., a major telecommunication company in the country, confirmed the cable cuts in a statement on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia had not acknowledged the disruptions, and authorities there did not respond to requests for comments.
In the United Arab Emirates, users on the Du and Etisalat networks experienced slower internet speeds. The government did not acknowledge the disruptions immediately.
Undersea cables can be damaged by ship anchors or targeted in deliberate attacks. Repairing such damages can take weeks as specialized crews must locate and repair the affected cables.
Houthis have denied involvement in the past
The recent cut in the undersea cables coincides with Yemen’s Houthi rebels engaging in attacks aimed at Israel over the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with airstrikes, resulting in the killing of key rebel