Internet disruptions have been reported in the Middle East and South Asia after multiple undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea. The tech giant Microsoft said in a statement on social media.
The undersea fiber optic cables carry over 99% of the international internet traffic. Recent disruptions caused by undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea slowed internet across the Middle East and parts of Asia, including India and Pakistan. Users in the UAE reported intermittent connectivity and slower speeds over the weekend, though services largely returned to normal by Sunday.
In a status update published to its website, Microsoft said, “network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea”.
“Network traffic that does not traverse through the Middle East is not impacted. We’ll continue to provide daily updates, or sooner if conditions change,” it said.
The Internet Connectivity Watchdog, NetBlocks, reported degraded Internet connectivity in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the UAE, and India, resulting in slow speeds and intermittent access. NetBlocks said that the connectivity issues were due to failures in SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The reason for cable cuts is still unclear.
Pakistan Telecommunications also released a statement warning customers that the country may experience some degradation during peak hours, adding that its international partners were working to resolve the issue. The Middle East serves as a critical hub linking Asia and Europe through undersea cables. They are vulnerable to damage by ship anchors, but can also be targeted in attacks, which can cause widespread disruptions.
According to the International Cable Protection Committee, there are approximately 1.7 million kilometers of undersea cables, and they go through between 150 to 200 incidents a year.