In the opening days of 2022, a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga vividly illustrated the undersea cable vulnerability of our global communications network. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption, significantly more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, not only caused physical destruction but also severed Tonga’s internet connectivity. This disruption, resulting from the damage to the undersea cable that provided internet to the island, created a communication blackout at a critical time, severely hampering recovery efforts and devastating local businesses reliant on digital communications and remittances.
The incident exposed the stark reality of undersea cable vulnerability. As Nicole Starosielski, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert on undersea networks, points out, modern life heavily depends on the robustness of these undersea cables. Most internet traffic, including essential services like email, social media, and streaming, travels through these cables. They are the hidden highways of our interconnected world, laid across the ocean floor, spanning nearly 1.5 million km and connecting continents.
The eruption’s aftermath highlighted not just natural threats to these cables but also their geopolitical importance. In recent years, concerns have grown regarding targeted surveillance and potential sabotage by state actors. For instance, NATO officials have reported increased Russian submarine activity around these cables in the North Atlantic, and there have been accusations of Russian efforts to disrupt these communications pathways as a form of hybrid warfare. The U.S. and its allies have expressed concerns that adversaries might tap into these cables to gather intelligence, demonstrating the strategic undersea cable vulnerability.
Despite the high-profile nature of these threats, many experts argue that the actual risks to undersea cables are more mundane and frequent. Data shows that accidental damage from human activities like shipping and fishing poses a greater threat to cable integrity. A report highlights that such incidents are the most common cause of disruptions, with cables being damaged on average every three days, often leading to significant economic losses and operational downtime.
The uneven distribution of these cables also underscores a significant disparity in global connectivity. While regions like the North Atlantic are densely connected, other parts of the world, such as the South Atlantic and Pacific islands like Tonga, have far fewer connections. This disparity not only affects the resilience of the network but also its capacity to handle disruptions without widespread consequences.
In response to the Tonga incident, there has been a push to assess and reinforce the resilience of the global undersea cable network. Governments and technology companies are exploring ways to mitigate undersea cable vulnerability, including diversifying cable routes and enhancing physical protections. However, the economic imperative to expand and upgrade this infrastructure is often weighed against the substantial costs involved.
As digital demand continues to soar globally, the need for a robust, secure, and equitable internet infrastructure becomes increasingly critical. The vulnerability of undersea cables not only poses a risk to global communication and economic stability but also highlights the broader challenges of ensuring digital equity. Addressing these vulnerabilities requires a concerted effort from international bodies, national governments, and private entities to safeguard these vital components of our modern world, ensuring that incidents like the one in Tonga do not leave entire nations in the dark.