The Cables of Power
- Stella Teixeira
- Feb 27
- 3 min read
The system that controls the world we live in today isn't found above us in satellites, but buried under kilometers of water in the oceans. While people think that wireless technology is the new normal, the reality is that 99% of all global data travels directly through underwater fiber optic cables that control credit cards, stock markets, social media, daily communications, and many more essential services. Without them, the modern world wouldn't just be impacted, but would completely stop.
Imagine a commercial ship accidentally dragging an anchor in an ocean sensitive area, for example in the red sea where many fiber optic cables are located. Or even worse, imagine a war between the USA and Russia, where Russia decides to spontaneously snap cables inside the ocean. It is not hard to notice that if any country wants to stop the world, they could by simply cutting a cable. Well, if you believe that no one would ever think about messing with one of the world's most important systems, you're wrong.
In the 1800s, the British empire ruled the seas. Not only was their maritime military the world's top tier, but they owned the undersea's telegraph line known as the “All Red-Line”. This is a giant network of telegraph cables that connected London to all of its colonies physically. But, what good would that do? Well, before the cables, if London wanted to send a message to New York, it had to go by ship taking about 10 days. But now, with the cables, London would be able to make that communication in minutes. This old kind of internet allowed Britain to be miles in front of opponents when it came to managing military and trade in real time. WWI was when these cables really proved their importance. In 1914, one of Britain's first actions of war was sending a ship to cut off Germany's own underwater cable system, which completely cut off the German Empire from the outside world. Nowadays, our cables are almost in the same routes drawn centuries ago, functioning as a crucial method of communication.
For more than a century, all cables were owned by government telecommunications companies; however, power has shifted. Private companies like Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google now own or lease half of the underwater cable system. Their goal? Have control over the cost, speed, and flow of information going from continent to continent. Now, these companies not only are the providers of a giant amount of the information, but also the physical road of transport. Companies are the ones, instead of the government deciding where, and how much of the information is going, which gives them incredible power. On a national security level, governments get more dependent each day that passes on private companies which they do not fully control, consequently making them the new keys to international relations.
Everything that holds immense power is the reason for conflict. No wonder that the cables are now an international concern, especially when so many wars are taking place. Cutting an undersea cable is considered a “grey zone tactic,” which is a strategy that allows the aggressor to cause gigantic damage to the economy or to a specific country while staying under the radar, maybe blaming the action on a natural accident. Now, imagine a war situation, where a specific group targets a major cable location which can possibly freeze banking systems, military communications and emergency services of a massive area. This is not just a simple action of war, but a dangerous action that can dangerously affect a big part of the world.
Another modern strategy used is where spy submarines can stay close to cables to steal signals passing through cables and steal possibly confidential information. Since these cables stretch for kilometers, crossing oceans through international waters, guarding even the majority of the cables is almost impossible, making them an easy target with high consequences in wars.
In the end, the modern world we see as a cloud of data floating above us, is far from the reality of underwater cables laying in the darkness of the seas. The extremely well built and sophisticated cable system that we depend on today is ironically dependent on 19th century geography. The cables of power are more than a communication system; they are the dividers of global sovereignty. Whether the tech giants are laying down new cables, or the government is taking advantage to steal information, protecting these cables is to protect the global economy and international communications. To ignore them nowadays is to invite an attacker to strike and severely damage the technology we know today. Society today is more connected than ever before, but also increasingly dependent and vulnerable to technology. Yet, the world is held together by cables in the bottom of the seas.
Sources:
Comments