Saudi Arabia fiber optic cable outage

Multiple subsea cables near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were severed, causing widespread internet slowdowns across the Middle East and South Asia.Incident OverviewOn September 6, 2025, several undersea fiber-optic cables in the Red Sea were cut near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, including the SEA-ME-WE 4 (SMW4), IMEWE, and FALCON GCX systems, which are critical for global connectivity between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe . The exact cause of the cuts is not confirmed, though potential factors include maritime accidents, such as vessels dragging anchors, and previous regional conflicts involving Houthi attacks on ships .Impact on Internet ServicesThe outage caused slow speeds, intermittent access, and higher latency in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, India, and parts of Africa . Users reported buffering issues, delayed video calls, and disrupted cloud services. Microsoft Azure warned that traffic routed through the Middle East could experience elevated latency, though alternative routing helped maintain service continuity for most users . Local telecom providers, including Pakistan Telecommunications and UAE operators e& and du, issued advisories about potential service degradation during peak hours .Technical and Economic ImplicationsThe Red Sea is a major digital corridor, carrying an estimated 17% of global internet traffic . SMW4 and IMEWE are key arteries for cloud services, streaming, banking, and airline systems . While redundancy exists through dozens of other subsea cables in the GCC region, rerouted traffic often results in slower speeds and higher latency due to longer paths or near-capacity alternative routes . Repairing these cables is complex and costly, with estimates ranging from $1 million to $3 million per repair, potentially taking weeks or months depending on depth, weather, and availability of specialized cable ships .Mitigation and ResilienceNetwork operators have rerouted traffic through other regional systems to minimize disruption . Investments in next-generation systems like SEA-ME-WE 6 aim to improve capacity and redundancy, but older systems like SMW4 and IMEWE remain critical for years to come . The incident highlights the fragility of global internet infrastructure and the strategic importance of subsea cables in maintaining regional and international connectivity . In summary, the Saudi Arabia fiber optic outage was caused by multiple undersea cable cuts near Jeddah, leading to widespread internet slowdowns across the Middle East and South Asia, with ongoing mitigation efforts relying on rerouting and redundancy in the global network .