Iran War Raises Fear of Subsea Cable Internet Disruptions, Govt Seeks Contingency Plans

By Danish Khan, Moneycontrol News
March 27, 2026

India has begun preparing for potential disruptions to its internet infrastructure as the escalating Iran conflict threatens critical subsea cable routes across the Persian Gulf and Red Sea—two of the world’s most vital digital corridors.

At a recent meeting, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials asked telecom and subsea cable operators to draw up contingency plans, as the conflict could delay new deployments, disrupt maintenance, and put India–Europe connectivity at risk, sources told Moneycontrol. Operators were also asked to assess potential risks and timelines that could impact upcoming cable rollouts.

Industry executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said companies have sought government support to engage with Iran to safeguard subsea cable infrastructure.

Nearly 95 percent of global international data flows through undersea cables. India currently hosts 17 such cables across 14 landing stations in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, and Trivandrum.

The Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz remain key risk zones. Damage to cables in the Red Sea last year took months to repair, highlighting the fragility of these routes. Since multiple global cables pass through these regions, any disruption could affect not just India’s connectivity but also traffic between the Middle East and Europe.

Such disruptions can delay financial transactions, impact e-commerce, cause social media outages, and affect IT services and global capability centres (GCCs), executives noted.

“While a complete internet blackout is unlikely, India remains exposed to congestion and performance issues due to its reliance on limited routes and landing points. Strengthening resilience will require diversifying cable landings, expanding eastward connectivity, and building domestic repair capabilities with policy support,” Amajit Gupta, Group CEO and MD of Lightstorm, told Moneycontrol.

Lightstorm owns and operates subsea cable assets in the Pacific region, covering routes such as Australia and Japan. It also carries traffic on other operators' cables inlcuding those owned by Tata Communications as a reseller.

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