Earlier this month, headlines were dominated by the conclusion of a court trial against a captain and two officers accused of deliberately damaging submarine cables in the Baltic Sea. The coverage was soon followed by a report warning that subsea cables remain vulnerable to potential attacks by Russia and China. With 99% of intercontinental internet traffic and an estimated 97–98% of all international data carried via submarine cables, safeguarding these networks has never been more critical.

The urgency of the conversation around subsea resiliency was the central theme at Capacity Europe, where a panel of leading industry figures, chaired by Kevin Sheehan, CTO of the Americas and VP sales engineering at Ciena, discussed the challenges and solutions facing the sector.

The discussion – featuring Sandeep Maru, director global sales at Ooredoo Group, Jorn Slatten, CMO at Altibox Carrier; Mónica Martínez Quero, CMO at Telxius; Abdullah Aldahmashi, COO at Center3,  and Georges Jaber, VP wholesale operations and special Projects at Salam – addressed one of the industry’s most pressing questions: can operators guarantee subsea resiliency amid AI-driven growth, geopolitical instability, and the increasing demand for global connectivity?

The panel opened with Sheehan observing that AI’s infrastructure build-out is a “once in 20- or 30-year event” that has placed unprecedented strain on networks and supply chains. “We can’t really talk about networking today without talking about AI,” he said.

Martínez Quero agreed that the industry is only at the start of a long transformation. “We’re just at the very early beginning,” she said. “This will take years, because we don’t know how it will end. We’re only starting to use AI, and demand for connectivity, data centres and power will just keep rising.”

From Salam’s perspective, Jaber estimated that “we’re maybe 15% or 20%” of the way into the infrastructure needed to support AI. “There’ll be huge demand for high-power data centres and new types of connectivity, including bulk fibre across Saudi Arabia and internationally,” he said.

Maru of Ooredoo commented that AI’s emergence mirrors the early stages of cloud expansion. “AI started with the data centre boom,” he said. “Multiple new terrestrial and submarine routes will be needed to handle low-latency traffic for inference and future use cases.”

Aldahmashi of Center3 added that even hyperscalers are struggling to predict their needs. “We often get new design requests every two weeks – completely different from what was already contracted,” he said. “They’re optimistic about future demand, but we’re still less than 10% built out from an AI infrastructure perspective. In Saudi Arabia, we have 300MW of data-centre capacity today, targeting six gigawatts in under a decade.”

Sheehan agreed that forecasting has become nearly impossible. “The hyperscalers don’t even know what they’ll need,” he said. “Whatever we build is filled before it’s finished.”

As the focus shifted to subsea resiliency, Martínez Quero outlined three key challenges: proving true route diversity across submarine and inland networks, managing the cost and complexity of coordination between operators, and ensuring backhaul connectivity to data centres without single points of failure.

“We must do strict analysis of routes and paths,” she said, citing Telxius’s dual-path Atlantic systems.

Maru emphasised that achieving resiliency will require a mindset shift. “We need to move from reactive repair to proactive protection,” he said.

He outlined four priorities: using AI to identify high-risk areas; deploying optical switching to avoid vulnerable branches; leveraging fibre-sensing technology to detect disturbances; and double-armouring or burying cables deeper to prevent cuts.

Jaber noted Salam’s approach combines terrestrial reinforcement with subsea expansion. “We’re strengthening our network across the Kingdom and building towards Europe via Jordan, Iraq and Turkey,” he said.

But Aldahmashi cautioned that resilience in MENA cannot be achieved through engineering alone.

“The number one issue is geopolitical,” he said. “Many have invested hundreds of millions without completing projects. Egypt is over-utilised, Jordan and Iraq face instability, and multiple cables have been cut in the Red Sea. Permits and politics make restoration slow.”

He argued that alignment between governments, hyperscalers and operators is vital. “Without government engagement, resiliency will remain a challenge,” he warned.

Geopolitics and government collaboration

Jaber added that awareness-raising with governments is essential to unlock new routes. “Since sanctions were lifted on Syria, we’ve been engaging directly with the government, showing how new corridors will benefit their economy,” he said. “Without G-to-G engagement, it’s difficult to progress.”

Slatten, drawing on experience in the Nordics, contrasted the region’s stability with the complexities of MENA. “We’re fortunate to operate in a peaceful environment,” he said. “We’ve created subsea security chambers across Nordic countries and work closely with governments to protect against threats – including, frankly, the Russians. Monitoring undersea activity is now part of our defensive strategy.”

Terrestrial routes return to the spotlight

With recent Red Sea cable cuts disrupting global traffic, operators are re-evaluating terrestrial routes as a critical complement to subsea systems. Aldahmashi said hyperscaler applications are “extremely latency-sensitive”, making hybrid solutions essential. “Without local operator partnerships, purely subsea approaches won’t succeed,” he said.

Maru described the future network as an integrated ecosystem of governments, hyperscalers, telcos and submarine providers. “We must move towards data-centre-to-data-centre connectivity, combining terrestrial and subsea,” he said. Ooredoo, he added, is investing in a new low-latency corridor through Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey to carry Asian traffic to Europe while bypassing congested routes.

Jaber highlighted the commercial challenges. “Terrestrial routes can’t always compete with subsea on price,” he said. “We need cooperation between operators along the path to ensure end-to-end protection and competitive pricing.”

For Martínez Quero, collaboration remains the critical success factor. “Carriers, OTTs and governments must share investment and risk,” she said. “That’s how Telxius has expanded – through partnerships with América Móvil, Google, Microsoft, Meta and others.”

Slatten agreed that hyperscalers co-building alongside carriers strengthens resilience but cautioned against market imbalance. “When neo-scalers and large enterprises join the AI race, we must ensure hyperscalers don’t absorb all the capacity,” he said. “There has to be symmetry.”

Landing stations evolve into neutral hubs

The panel concluded with a look at how landing stations are transforming from passive endpoints to dynamic, carrier-neutral interconnection hubs. A stark difference from 20 years ago.

“In the past, landing stations were simply where the cable ended,” said Martínez Quero. “Now they’re critical infrastructure – neutral hubs linking terrestrial and subsea networks, allowing multiple carriers to interconnect and extend reach inland.”

In Saudi Arabia, Jaber said regulators are taking steps to open up access. “There are more open models with cross-connect and colocation fees,” he explained. “That will make it easier for other licensed operators to access cables landing in the Kingdom.”

Maru noted a “huge shift” across the GCC towards regulatory neutrality. “We’re aligned with this direction,” he said. “Neutral landing stations will make subsea systems more accessible and commercially viable.”

Aldahmashi added that changing traffic patterns will reinforce this trend. “Today, around 80% of utilisation comes from telcos and enterprise customers, while 20% is cloud,” he said. “In the next decade, that will flip to 70% cloud and AI, 30% telco and enterprise. Open systems are essential to handle that growth.”

Collaboration, neutrality and foresight

The consensus among the panellists was clear: operators alone cannot guarantee subsea resiliency. The future depends on collaboration between governments, hyperscalers, telcos and technology vendors, alongside regulatory reform and intelligent design.

As Sheehan summarised, “We’re still at the beginning of this journey. Demand is exploding, and no one can build fast enough. But through partnership, innovation and a shift from reactive to proactive thinking, we can create networks that are not only scalable – but truly resilient.”

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