UN body to protect 'vulnerable' submarine cables after ruptures

Sub-sea cables carry over 99% of international data, meaning people all over the world rely on them for emails and text messages as well as video streaming services while governments need them for internal communications.

Ruptures can be caused by ageing infrastructure, weather, and accidents as well as acts of suspected sabotage such as the severing of two beneath the Baltic Sea in November.

"This body will identify key issues to ensure that submarine cables are built, deployed and maintained with a greater resiliency," Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) told reporters ahead of the first meeting of the new group.

"It's definitely not just a technical issue, but an issue that can affect our economies and our societies. And however we see that this critical infrastructure is vulnerable to disruptions," he said.

Lamanauskas said the ITU sometimes received reports of alleged sabotage but said it was not currently within its mandate to investigate such issues or assign blame.

However, he said that hoped the new body would help address disruptions, whatever the cause, by restoring services more quickly such as through expediting permits.

In 2023, around 200 cable failures were reported, according to ITU data. Overall, about 80% of cable disruptions are thought to be caused by natural hazards or human accidents, such as being pierced by a boat anchor, Lamanauskas added.

Often, data can be rerouted to other cables but in more isolated places such as the Pacific island of Tonga, damage to a submarine cable from a 2022 tsunami cut it off for a month.

The International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience is composed of 40 experts from around the world from the public and private sectors including representatives from submarine cable operators, telecommunications companies and government agencies. A follow-up summit is planned in Nigeria in February.