Over the weekend, two significant undersea cables crucial for global communications—SEA-ME-WE 4 (SMW4) and IMEWE—sustained damage near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This incident disrupted internet connectivity throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa.
Related: Internet Speed Declines in UAE and Surrounding Regions Due to Red Sea Cable Damage
While service providers are actively rerouting traffic to maintain network functionality, this situation underscores the vital role these cables play in the digital economy and the vulnerability of the underwater infrastructure.
Both SEA-ME-WE 4 (SMW4) and IMEWE are key components of global connectivity, facilitating data transfer between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. They enable various services including cloud computing, video streaming, airline reservations, and international banking.
Fortunately, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has a wealth of submarine cables. According to industry data from Equinix, there are 34 subsea cable systems connecting at 18 landing stations across the Arabian Peninsula. Additionally, TeleGeography’s interactive map shows a dense network of cable systems in the Arabian Gulf and adjacent Arabian Sea locations, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman.
In the event of a cable malfunction, network administrators typically redirect internet traffic through other regional systems, utilizing redundant capacities already integrated into the global network. This backup mechanism helps avoid a complete service outage, though alternative routes may lead to slower speeds, increased latency, and occasional interruptions.
The Red Sea corridor alone accounts for approximately 17% of worldwide internet traffic.
As of now, the circumstances surrounding the damage to SEA-ME-WE 4 (SMW4) and IMEWE remain unclear. Below, we explain the significance of these cables.
SEA-ME-WE 4: A 20,000km Data Highway
The South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) cable is among the world’s most extensive submarine fiber-optic systems. According to Submarine Networks, it spans between 19,200km and 20,000km, linking 14 countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria, and France.
Since its launch in December 2005, it has been managed by a consortium of 16 telecom operators, featuring companies like Etisalat (UAE), STC (Saudi Arabia), Tata Communications (India), Singtel (Singapore), and Telecom Egypt.
Initially, SMW4 was designed to handle a total capacity of 1.28 terabits per second (Tbps) through two fiber pairs. In 2015, it was upgraded to 4.6 Tbps, and by 2024, it was modernized with Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme technology, achieving up to 450Gbps per wavelength, according to disclosures from technology providers such as Ciena and Mitsubishi.
SMW4 is essential for connecting Asia with Europe and serves as a critical backbone for mobile operators, cloud services, and international communication. Despite the emergence of newer systems like SEA-ME-WE 5 and 6, SMW4 continues to be an important fallback and redundancy route for the region.
IMEWE: Direct Bandwidth from India to Europe
The India–Middle East–Western Europe (IMEWE) cable enhances SMW4 by delivering additional bandwidth along a similar path, featuring more direct connections. As per TeleGeography’s Submarine Cable Map, IMEWE is about 12,091km long, linking India, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Italy, and France.
Operational since December 2010, IMEWE is managed by a consortium that includes Bharti Airtel, Etisalat, Orange, STC, Tata Communications, Pakistan Telecom, and Telecom Italia Sparkle.
This system was initially launched with three fiber pairs and a capacity of 3.84 Tbps, which has been progressively upgraded: first to 4.8 Tbps in 2012 using 40Gbps DWDM technology, then to 5.6 Tbps in 2016 through 100Gbps DWDM, and finally enhanced in 2019 with Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai, allowing 200Gbps per wavelength according to industry reports.
IMEWE provides a direct, low-latency link between India and Europe, which is vital for industries needing real-time connectivity, such as finance, cloud computing, and aviation.
Undersea cables like SMW4 and IMEWE are remarkable engineering achievements. Each cable contains numerous ultra-thin optical fibers protected by multiple layers of steel, copper, and waterproof insulation. Data transmission occurs at about two-thirds the speed of light, rendering these cables more efficient and reliable than satellite communication. Modern systems can transfer tens of terabits of data per second, sufficient for simultaneous HD video streaming for millions of users.
The shallow waters of the Red Sea, coupled with heavy shipping traffic, increase the risk of accidental damages to these cables. Earlier in 2024, three cables were severed when a drifting vessel, struck by Houthis, entered a protected cable zone, causing disruptions that lasted for weeks.
Repairing these systems is a complex and costly process. The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) estimates that repairs can cost between $1 million and $3 million and may take weeks or even months, influenced by depth, weather conditions, and the availability of specialized cable repair ships.
In response to these challenges, operators are investing in advanced systems like SEA-ME-WE 6, which aims to offer greater capacity and built-in redundancy.
As global data consumption continues to rise, older systems like SMW4 and IMEWE will still play a vital role for the foreseeable future.