India Set to Become International Transit Hub for Submarine Cable Network
India can emerge as a top international subsea connectivity hub, using its geographical location and growing digital infrastructure, Broadband India Forum (BIF) Chairperson Aruna Sundararajan said on Tuesday. Addressing the 'International Subsea Cable Systems Conference' in New Delhi, she underlined the necessity to increase India's subsea infrastructure by four to five times to cater to increasing data consumption demands.
"India has tremendous potential to become a foremost global transit node for subsea connectivity. For this, there is a need to increase the capacity of our subsea infrastructure by 4-5X, improve resilience, and introduce redundancy in our subsea cable networks, following global trends", Sundararajan said.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti pointed out that subsea cables account for more than 95% of global data traffic. He emphasized the significance of developing geographical diversity and expanding Cable Landing Stations (CLS) to enhance India's strategic and commercial interests. Global cable outages in recent times have emphasized the necessity of a robust network, he stated.
BSNL CMD Robert Ravi again reiterated the company's resolve towards increasing safe and affordable connectivity. "From the bottom of the ocean to the top of the Himalayas, BSNL is connecting India – securely, affordably, and reliably", he stated.
India already contributes significantly to the subsea cable network of the world, with 17 international submarine cables linked to 14 landing stations in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, and Trivandrum. These strategic infrastructure facilities are operated by key Indian telecom players such as Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel, Global Cloud eXchange, and BSNL.
Bharti Airtel recently secured its overseas connectivity by getting the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable in Chennai. Also, global technology giant Meta has revealed 'Project Waterworth,' a 50,000 km underwater cable project linking India with the US, Brazil, and South Africa, consolidating India's increasing dominance in global digital networks.
