India Designates 18 Subsea Cables Critical, Commissions 4 New Systems
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 3
India Designates 18 Subsea Cables Critical, Commissions 4 New Systems
1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 3
Summary
India has classified submarine cable systems as critical telecommunications infrastructure, a move aimed at speeding clearances, repairs and protection for links carrying about 95% of its westbound international bandwidth.
The urgency is concentrated in Mumbai's Versova corridor, where 13 of India's 18 intercontinental cables land within 6 km, creating a single-point vulnerability for traffic to Europe, Africa and West Asia.
The network is also aging and hard to fix: 11 of the 18 cables are more than 20 years old, and India still lacks a domestic subsea repair ship, leaving faults dependent on vessels from Dubai or Singapore.
That weakness matters more as demand surges—India had more than 1 billion broadband subscribers by late 2025 and data-centre capacity has jumped to about 1,575 MW from 375 MW in 2020.
Four new cable systems are now being commissioned, with three more planned, as India tries to spread landings beyond Mumbai and build enough capacity for AI-driven growth.
How might a classified military underwater surveillance project unexpectedly hold the key to saving India's fragile internet backbone?
Could a single fishing boat off Mumbai's coast instantly cripple India's billion-user digital economy and advanced AI ambitions?
India's Subsea Cable Revolution: Critical Infrastructure, Repair Bottlenecks, and the Geopolitics of Global Internet Routes
Overview
In 2026, India declared 18 subsea cable systems as critical infrastructure, aiming for faster regulatory clearances and stronger repair capabilities. This move comes as India faces a major risk: most of its international cables land in a small area near Mumbai, creating a single point of failure. If these cables are cut, the country could lose most of its westward digital connectivity, causing huge economic losses. At the same time, India relies on foreign repair ships, which leads to long delays during outages. To address these risks, India is investing in new cable routes, building domestic repair capacity, and strengthening maritime security and regional partnerships.