As the most populous country in the world, India accounts for about a fifth of global online data consumption. Yet the country faces a critical vulnerability in its submarine cables. Thus, the possibility that India could be cut off from the Internet one day is a serious technological reality.
Cable Wear and Concentration of Traffic
In 2023, India became the world’s most populous country and since 2025, more than a billion of its citizens are subscribed to high-speed Internet. It is fair to say that the country is today one of the largest Internet markets in the world, thanks to inexpensive data. The digital economy is thriving there, and the dependence on its submarine cables is growing stronger. Yet, the maintenance of these facilities is now subject to a critical vulnerability.
In an article dated September 3, 2026, the BBC reminded that India now accounts for around 20% of global data consumption. However, this is connected to only about 3% of the world’s submarine cables. This represents a very pronounced gap and, above all, a constraining one between the country’s physical infrastructure and its ability to supply data.
India has 18 cables, but 11 of them are already over twenty years old, whereas the typical lifespan of these equipment is about 25 years. Furthermore, 13 of these cables terminate on a single coastal strand of six kilometers on the eastern coast, in Mumbai (see map below). This strategic area alone houses 95% of the country’s international bandwidth to Europe, Africa and Western Asia.
A Country Unable to Respond Quickly to Major Outages
The risks of large-scale sabotage are limited. Thus, cable wear represents the strongest threat, with outages also caused by ship anchors and fishing activities. These hazards are fairly frequent, with between 150 and 200 incidents each year. Also, the Mumbai area, which concentrates so much activity, is undoubtedly India’s weak point. Indeed, a major incident in this precise location could instantly paralyze the majority of the country’s global connections. However, in the event of a rupture in this region, terrestrial backup systems would activate to prevent a total digital “black hole.” Yet, overall throughput would collapse and, in any case, this is not a true solution.
It should be noted that India does not own any submarine cable repair ships, which are essential in case of a problem. The country must therefore rely on foreign ships that must obtain permissions to roam in territorial waters. In other words, India depends on other countries for repairing its cables and given the procedures to be followed, is unable to respond quickly to major outages.
There is also the possibility of planning new cables to widen bandwidth and decentralize activity. The fact is that this type of planning takes three to four years and the installation of equipment requires an additional two years. There is also a fragmented decision-making capacity across more than fifteen different government agencies, which obviously lengthens the timelines.
The Government Itself Triggers Internet Outages
Recall that India must contend with the explosion in demand related to artificial intelligence, but also with the massive expansion in the capacity of its data centers. In recent years, this capacity has risen from 375 MW to 1,575 MW. Unfortunately, the network is saturated and the physical infrastructure struggles to keep pace.
While waiting to remedy the situation, the government itself occasionally induces local Internet outages, in some major cities including New Delhi. The population is then urged to use more decentralized Bluetooth messaging applications, such as Bitchat, to continue communicating without a network.
