Red Sea Blackout: Cutting Your Internet Lifeline

Red Sea Blackout: Cutting Your Internet Lifeline

A City Goes Dark

In a bustling café, Ayesha, a 29-year-old freelance coder, sips her chai, her laptop screen frozen. Her client in Dubai hasn’t received her latest project update, and her WhatsApp messages won’t send. The café’s Wi-Fi, is very reliable. “It’s like the internet just vanished,” she mutters, unaware that 1,500 miles away, in the depths of the Red Sea, the arteries of global connectivity—undersea fiber-optic cables—have been severed. Her frustration is seen across cities from Mumbai to Dubai, where businesses stall, students lose access to online classes, and families can’t connect. A mild digital blackout is strangling economies and lives. What happens when the world’s unseen lifelines are cut, and who’s really cutting the strings?

What’s Really Going On

The narrative of “accidental” cable cuts in the Red Sea doesn’t hold water when you wipe off mud form the screen.

1. Geopolitical Sabotage

Official reports cite “accidental” cuts, possibly from ship anchors. But the Red Sea, a chokepoint for 17% of global internet traffic, is a geopolitical powder keg. The SMW4 and IMEWE cables, critical for Asia-Europe connectivity, were cut near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 6, 2025, disrupting connectivity in India, Pakistan, and the UAE. Earlier cuts in March 2024 hit four cables (Asia-Africa-Europe 1, Europe India Gateway, Seacom, TGN-Gulf), affecting 25% of Red Sea traffic. Houthi rebels, engaged in a campaign against Israel over Gaza, have been linked to these incidents, despite their denials. A Houthi-affiliated social media post in December 2024 mapped Red Sea cables, hinting at intent. Yemen’s government-in-exile warned of Houthi plans to target cables, and the precision of multiple cuts in shallow waters (492–558 feet) suggests sabotage over random anchor damage.

The news skims over the ripple effects on ordinary people. In India, small businesses reliant on e-commerce platforms are reporting a 30% drop over the weekend of September 6, as customers couldn’t access sites. Students preparing for competitive exams lost access to online study portals, with one Mumbai coaching center reporting 60% of its students unable to attend virtual classes. In the UAE, gig workers on Du and Etisalat networks faced delayed payments due to slow internet, impacting their ability to buy essentials. These aren’t just “latency issues”; they’re livelihoods affected. Social media posts from affected regions show desperation, with users sharing screenshots of stalled transactions and dropped video calls.

3. Corporate and Government Silence

Neither Tata Communications (SMW4) nor Alcatel Submarine Networks (IMEWE) commented on the cuts, like their silence in March 2024. Saudi Arabia and the UAE governments also stayed mum, despite public outcry. This opacity hides a deeper truth: the global internet’s reliance on a few undersea cables is a single point of failure. Over 1.2 million kilometers of submarine cables carry 95% of intercontinental data, yet redundancy is limited in choke points like the Red Sea. The lack of transparency fuels speculation and delays repairs, which can take weeks due to Yemen’s maritime authority permits and ongoing conflict risks.

How We Got Here

The Red Sea cable crisis didn’t emerge overnight. A timeline of drivers reveals a collision of geopolitics, technology, and neglect:

• 2010s: The Red Sea becomes a critical internet route with cables like SMW4 and IMEWE, driven by Asia’s digital boom and Europe’s data hunger. Investment in redundancy lags due to high costs.

• 2020–2023: Houthi rebels escalate attacks on Red Sea shipping, initially targeting oil and cargo to pressure Israel over Palestine. Cables are spared, but tensions simmer.

• December 2024: A Houthi-linked social post maps Red Sea cables, signaling potential targets. Yemen’s government-in-exile issues warnings, ignored by global media.

• March 2024: Four cables (AAE-1, EIG, Seacom, TGN-Gulf) are cut, disrupting 25% of Red Sea traffic. Houthi denials clash with Yemeni government claims of sabotage. Repairs stall due to conflict risks.

• September 6, 2025: SMW4 and IMEWE cables are cut near Jeddah, hitting India, Pakistan, and UAE. NetBlocks confirms outages; no official cause is disclosed.

• Ongoing: Global reliance on undersea cables grows, but investment in alternative routes (e.g., Arctic cables) remains slow, leaving choke points vulnerable.

What the News Hides

The mainstream narrative—cable cuts as isolated incidents—misses critical context and buries inconvenient truths:

• Underreported: The Red Sea’s strategic importance. It’s not just a shipping lane but a digital chokepoint, carrying 17% of global internet traffic. A single cut can disrupt millions, but governments downplay this to avoid panic.

• Hidden: The role of Western intelligence. Undersea cables are tapped by agencies for data interception, making them military targets. This is rarely discussed, as it implicates powerful nations.

• Impact on Decisions: Silence from governments and corporations leaves citizens powerless, unable to demand accountability or push for infrastructure resilience. The lack of transparency fuels distrust, with social posts showing users blaming local providers rather than global systems.

• Why It Matters: Without clear information, individuals and businesses can’t plan—whether it’s securing backup connections or advocating for policy changes. The normalization of “latency” as a minor issue masks systemic fragility.
  

The Brink: What Happens Next

Escalating Sabotage in 3–6 Months

Houthi rebels, stirred by Gaza conflict escalation, target more cables. Iran-backed groups could provide technical support, exploiting shallow-water vulnerabilities. Global powers fail to secure the Red Sea due to diplomatic gridlock. By Q1 2026, additional cuts can disrupt 40% of Red Sea traffic.

The Houthis’ strategic pivot to cables as a low-cost, high-impact weapon aligns with their anti-Israel campaign. Historical cuts (March 2024, September 2025) show capability. Lack of international naval patrols in Yemeni waters enables these attacks. Global internet can slow down, with Asia-Europe trade losing $500 million weekly. Small businesses collapse, and digital nomads like Ayesha could lose clients.

Public outcry and corporate losses can push tech giants (Google, Microsoft) to fund alternative routes, like Arctic or terrestrial cables. Diplomatic pressure can lead to UN-led Red Sea security protocols. By mid-2026, 20% of Asia-Europe traffic can shift to new routes. Connectivity will stabilize, but costs will also rise, hitting consumers with higher internet fees. Developing nations will fall behind in accessing new infrastructure.

-Chetan Desai

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