Multiple subsea internet cables slated to run through the Red Sea are not yet complete, as political tensions and heightened security threats have made the route more dangerous and complicated, according to a report by Bloomberg on Monday.
The report said the Red Sea portion of Meta Platforms’ (META) 2Africa subsea cable system remains unfinished five years after it was announced in 2020. The cable system, which is expected to span 28,000 miles, would loop around the African continent to deliver vital high-speed connectivity.
The southern Red Sea segment of 2Africa hasn’t yet been built due to a “range of operational factors, regulatory concerns, and geopolitical risk,” a Meta spokesperson familiar with the details of the project told Bloomberg.
Google-backed Blue-Raman cable (GOOG) (GOOGL) is also seeing progress delays in the region, a spokesperson for Google told Bloomberg, without providing any further details.
Other cables that have yet to go live through the Red Sea include India-Europe-Xpress, Sea-Me-We 6, and Africa-1. Representatives for telecommunications companies involved in those cables either declined to or did not respond to requests for comment by Bloomberg.
In January, the owner of Ireland-based subsea fiber specialist Aqua Comms sold the company at a discount, citing problems including the “indefinite delay” to EMIC-1, part of the 2Africa cable, “due to ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea,” according to a filing.
The difficulties of operating in the Red Sea have forced technology and telecommunications firms to rethink how they move high volumes of internet traffic around the world, the report said.
While cargo ships can divert at relatively short notice around the southern tip of Africa to avoid missile attacks, subsea cables are typically planned years in advance of installation. It is almost impossible to install a cable in the Red Sea without a permit, which involves lengthy negotiations between the various factions controlling the strait. There are also security concerns for the specialized cable ships and their crew, Alan Mauldin, research director at telecommunications data firm Telegeography, told Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Meta told Bloomberg the company is involved in about 24 projects globally and believes one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of disruption is “to diversify connectivity routes.”
Telecom and tech companies are now considering alternative overland routes through Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to bypass the Red Sea. Once considered too costly and indirect, these paths are becoming increasingly viable options, the report said. Even a route through Iraq, historically considered to be geopolitically risky, has become a possible alternative.
Some companies involved with the cables are considering applying for a US Treasury Department exemption to engage directly with the sanctioned Houthi-backed government in Sanaa, Yemen, to obtain permits to continue work in the region, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
These companies are also considering calling for assistance from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, sources told Bloomberg.
Ultimately, diversifying away from the Red Sea “will lead to much more resilient infrastructure, with a diverse array of connection points from the Middle East and Africa to Europe,” Mauldin told Bloomberg.