India can become global hub for submarine telecom cable network

The country currently hosts around 17 international subsea cables across 14 distinct landing stations located in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin and Trivandrum

New Delhi: India, which plays a key role in the global submarine cable network, has the potential to further dominate the market due to its strategic geographical location.

The country currently hosts around 17 international subsea cables across 14 distinct landing stations located in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin and Trivandrum. The total lit capacity and activated capacity of these cables stood at 138.606 terabits per second (Tbps) and 111.111 Tbps, respectively (at the end of 2022).

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Indian telecom operators involved in submarine cable infrastructure include Tata Communications, which owns five cable landing stations in Mumbai, Chennai, and Cochin; Global Cloud eXchange, which owns stations in Mumbai and Trivandrum; Bharti Airtel, operating stations in Chennai and Mumbai; Sify Technologies and BSNL, both involved in the operation of various cable landing stations; and Vodafone and IOX, the latter planning to construct a new cable landing station in Puducherry.

Last month, Bharti Airtel landed the new SEA-ME-WE 6 (Southeast Asia-Middle East-West Europe-6, or SMW6) submarine telecom cable in Chennai. The company had already landed the cable in Mumbai on December 30, 2024.

The 21,700 route km (Rkm) submarine cable system connects India to Singapore and France (Marseille) crossing Egypt through terrestrial cables. With this, Airtel has further enhanced its network presence with diversified capacity in the submarine cable system globally.

The cable landing, both in Mumbai and Chennai, will be fully integrated with Airtel’s data centre arm, Nxtra by Airtel. Airtel’s global network spans five continents. The company has investments in 34 cables globally. Submarine cables carry over 99 per cent of international data exchanges, making their resilience a global imperative.

Last month, Meta announced a new 50,000 Km undersea cable project ‘Waterworth’ to enhance digital connectivity between India and the US. According to the company, Project Waterworth will bring industry-leading connectivity to the US, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions.

Once the project is complete, it will reach five major continents and span over 50,000 km (longer than the Earth’s circumference), making it the world’s longest subsea cable project using the highest-capacity technology available.

Driven by India’s growing demand for digital services, this investment reaffirms Meta’s commitment to economic growth, resilient infrastructure, and digital inclusion, supporting India’s thriving digital landscape and fostering technological innovation,” according to Meta.

Subsea cable projects are the backbone of global digital infrastructure, accounting for more than 95 per cent of intercontinental traffic across the world’s oceans to seamlessly enable digital communication, video experiences, online transactions, and more.