Submarine Cables: The Lifeline of Communication Grid

Today’s fast-paced global economy depends heavily on submarine cables, which serve as essential digital communication infrastructure. These cables are crucial for a country’s communication grid, playing a key role in facilitating business and economic operations. They form a vast network that spans maritime zones, connecting people and businesses around the world. Almost all of the world’s international Internet traffic is carried by these international cables. Given the evolving geopolitical landscape, these vital infrastructures are now considered strategic assets in the ocean, holding significant importance for nations.

According to the Tele Geography Submarine Cable (SMC) Map 2024, there are currently 559 cable systems globally, and there are 1,636 landings that are active or under-construction.

What is a cable landing station?

A cable landing station, also referred to as a submarine cable landing station or a submarine cable station, is a facility where undersea fiber optic cables carrying international telecommunications and internet traffic are linked to terrestrial networks. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) described submarine cables as “critical communication infrastructure” in 2010.

Where are submarine cables located in India?

The extent of the geographic coverage of each cable can vary based on the original data source. Close to the shore, cables are typically buried underneath the seabed, while in offshore areas, they are positioned directly on the seabed.

India is home to two significant ports – Mumbai and Chennai, both of which have stations for landing submarine cables that connect to the Internet in India. Mumbai serves as the primary center, hosting approximately 20 cables that land in the city, while Chennai is connected by nine cables, and Kochi has three. Some cable systems have landing points in both Chennai and Mumbai, and many of them continue on to Southeast Asia, primarily reaching Singapore.

Sitting at the intersection of rapidly expanding submarine cable networks, India has a golden opportunity to position itself as the premier center for reliable connectivity. The upcoming cables will play a vital role in next-generation networks, advancements in AI, cloud services, and the ever-expanding internet of things.

What is driving data demand in India?

India has unique demographics and geography, making it well positioned to become a leading data hub. It has one of the largest, youngest, and fastest-growing digital markets. The tech industry in India is formidable, with the largest pool of trained personnel. Demographic and economic trends suggest that India is on track to become a digital superpower. The digital economy is crucial for India’s goal of reaching a $10 trillion economy by 2035. Geographically, India is strategically located at the center of a region experiencing rapid broadband expansion.

It’s hardly surprise that a large number of submarine cables have recently arrived in India given the growing demand for digital services and high-speed data. Many more subsea cables are expected to arrive in the next two to three years.

Investing in several submarine projects helps the industry meet the increasing demand for capacity while also enhancing network reliability and high-speed connections. India’s internet traffic has increased several times in tandem with worldwide trends.

The demand for internet services has increased exponentially, and this has resulted in an extraordinary jump in the amount of international traffic passing through submarine cables. This traffic is anticipated to increase much more as 5G technology becomes widely used and datacenters continue to proliferate throughout India. The capacity of submarine cables will need to be raised proportionately to meet this increasing demand.

Between 2021 and 2028, India’s consumed international bandwidth is predicted to increase at a compound annual rate of 38%. The nation’s need for datacenters is expanding in tandem with the country’s growing data consumption. Both the average data usage per user and the number of data users are increasing, which is the cause of this.

How is the global trend?

Global data consumption is expected to continue to rise, with the need for international bandwidth expected to nearly double every two years in the near future. This demand is fueled by the ongoing move towards cloud services, the ongoing surge in the use of mobile devices, and the adoption of cutting-edge mobile technologies like 4G and 5G. In recent years, the rise of international bandwidth for content producers has surpassed that of all other customers.
The growing significance of route diversity and increased direct control over critical infrastructure is a discernible trend in global networks.

The global economy is undergoing a digital transition, and related technologies like the internet of things (IoT) enabled by 5G or 6G and the growing application of quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) suggest that global data transfers will increase exponentially.

What role do subsea cable landing stations play?

They make it possible for subsea cables to be connected to terrestrial networks, which facilitates internet connections and global communication. Their low latency and high-speed connectivity allow enterprises, end users, and datacenters to exchange massive volumes of data.

Companies that primarily rely on internet access for their operations will find datacenters close to the landing stations more appealing because of the increased likelihood of improved datacenter connectivity and faster internet speeds.
Real-time access to social media, streaming video, websites, business and consumer applications, and numerous other bandwidth-intensive services is made possible via submarine cables and their links to terrestrial networks.
In the years to come, investments in submarine cables are not only going to increase in India, but are going to redefine the overall communication landscape in the country, making it a digital hub.