Guardian article (Feb 5, 2024), "Houthi-linked Telegram channel published a map of the cables running along the bed of the Red Sea. The image was accompanied by a message: “There are maps of international cables connecting all regions of the world through the sea. It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents – not only countries – pass near it.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/05/houthis-may-sa...
MEMRI publishes word for word quote of above with screenshots of Telegram group (Dec 24, 2023).
https://www.memri.org/jttm/veiled-threat-telegram-channels-l...
Today (Feb 26, 2024) @Netblocks posts screenshot of drop in traffic.
https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1762115571376685524
Sunil Tagare - Founder & CEO, OpenCables (Feb 25, 2024)
How can these be repaired? Can it even be done safely? Insurance of operating a specialized boat in these waters? (paraphrasing)
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- "[Flag Telecom founder and telecoms entrepreneur Sunil Tagare] also posted that no cable ship provider was willing to provide repairs in the area and that insurance companies would cancel policies for cable ships attempting to operate in Yemeni waters. Again, DCD hasn’t been able to confirm these claims."
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/at-least-one-subs...
It costs about 20k per ship for insurance. Armed/unarmed militia onboard security is quite expensive though and they didn’t quote a price. I’m sure they can work it out with the coalition, insurance, and workmen for all the risks involved.
I don’t know if anyone here realizes how valuable these cables are. Satellite time is incredibly expensive. Using other undersea cable routes is bad because now you are in a situation where bandwidth limitations may come into play but mainly lack of alternatives if those remaining cables have issues. I wouldn’t say it’s common to have issues but it is not uncommon.
last quote of the documentary per pirate leader “we are considering going back to the old ways of cutting throats”.
Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea.Authorities looking at potential terrorism
(while the Houthis control much of Yemen, they are not its internationally recognized government)
We are losing allies in the world with our constant vetoing in the UNSC.
Our support for this genocide puts the rest of the world in an impossible place and we shouldn't expect traditional international norms to remain unbroken if we're going through with it.
Most of the immediate harm will be absorbed by the Gulf states and India, Globes said.
This is in the Middle East and may or may not be related to the war in Gaza.
I'm like the worst possible person to do this because I tend to not follow The News and I expect someone to get very upset with me for it. But I will say the world needs peace in the Middle East more than I understood. There is -- or was -- critical infrastructure running through there and this is potentially a big deal globally.
And that does not mean I am advocating some kind of intervention from other countries. Please don't put words in my mouth in that regard. I'm just saying the ongoing issues there are apparently now becoming a global problem in ways that likely most people would not have predicted.
Realistically however, attacking some undersea cables isn't a threat to the existence of the internet anyway. Even if you could split THE internet into many national/regional networks, that would still be sufficient for most industrial and economic needs. More expensive and robust links could connect these regional networks where truly needed.
This is not the specific case, but I think that if Europe lost access to US internet services its economy would collapse.
