Is India's Internet Boom Running Into an Undersea Problem?

Deep under the ocean, bundles of thin glass fibers carry almost all of the world's internet data between countries. These are called submarine cables, and India depends on them heavily. But experts warn that India's underwater cable network has some big problems that could slow down or disrupt its fast-growing digital economy.

Near Mumbai's coast, there is a stretch of water only six kilometers long. At least 13 of India's 18 international submarine cables come ashore within that small area. Together, those cables carry about 95% of India's international internet traffic to Europe, Africa, and West Asia. Experts say having so many cables packed so close together is a serious risk.

If several of those cables were damaged or cut at the same time, a huge share of India's internet connections could be affected. Internet traffic could be redirected through other cities like Chennai and Kochi, but that would still cause slowdowns. Even small slowdowns can cost a lot of money for banks, stock exchanges, and companies that use cloud computing. Artificial intelligence systems are especially sensitive because they move huge amounts of data very quickly.

Submarine cables are often called the internet's hidden highways. They lie on the ocean floor and carry data as pulses of light through glass fibers. Humans have laid about 870,000 miles of these cables, and they carry roughly 99% of all global communication. Without them, the modern internet simply would not work.

India is one of the world's biggest internet markets, with more than one billion broadband subscribers by late 2025. But India uses about 20% of the world's internet data while being connected to only about 3% of the world's submarine cables. It also has just 21 cable landing stations, compared with about 1,900 planned or active around the world. That means India controls only about 1% of the world's total cable landing stations, which experts say is far too few.

Many of India's existing cables are also getting old. A recent study found that 11 of India's 18 international cables are more than 20 years old. Submarine cables are usually designed to last about 25 years, so these older cables are approaching the end of their working lives. As they age, the chance of breakdowns increases.

Cable faults — breaks or damage — are actually very common around the world, with an estimated 150 to 200 occurring every year. Most are caused by fishing boats, ship anchors, natural disasters, or equipment failures, not by deliberate attacks. A recent example happened in the Red Sea, when damaged cables forced internet traffic to be rerouted on a long detour. Events like this show how quickly a cable problem can ripple across the entire internet.

When a cable breaks in Indian waters, there is another serious problem: India has no cable repair ships of its own. Repair ships have to come from other countries like Dubai or Singapore, and they also need special government permission to work in Indian waters. That permission process can take weeks, making a bad situation even worse. Experts call this delay one of the biggest weaknesses in India's internet infrastructure.

India's complicated approval process is a major part of the problem. Setting up a cable landing station can require about 50 different approvals from at least 16 government agencies. These agencies cover areas like defense, shipping, environment, and state governments. Experts say this fragmented system slows everything down and urgently needs to be fixed.

There is some good news on the horizon. India has begun treating submarine cables as critical infrastructure, which should help speed up approvals and emergency repairs. New technology called Distributed Acoustic Sensing can turn cable fibers into sensors that detect nearby ships or anchors before they cause damage. Four new submarine cable systems are also being built, with three more planned, including one that will add new landing points near Hyderabad and Chennai to spread out the network.