Sep 09, 2026 11:31 am IST

Opinion | A New 'Subsea Cable' Is Coming To India. But It's A Wake-Up Call For Something

Backed by some of the biggest names in tech - Microsoft, Singapore's Singtel, Tata Communications, and Japan's NEC - the 'I-2SEA' will carry high-speed data traffic that AI systems need to function

Anwesha Sen Anwesha Sen Columnist

Anwesha Sen Columnist

A new subsea cable is coming to India's shores. I-2SEA will connect Singapore and Malaysia directly to Hyderabad, carrying high-speed data traffic that AI systems need to function. It is backed by some of the biggest names in tech - Microsoft, Singapore's Singtel, Tata Communications, and Japan's NEC - and it lands at two different points on India's east coast, ensuring a single physical break cannot sever the connection entirely.

This is a welcome development for India. It is not, however, a fix for a problem that has been building for years: India's subsea cable network - the wires that carry almost all of the country's intercontinental internet traffic - is ageing, poorly protected, and impossible to repair without help from abroad.

Nearly everything that crosses India's border digitally, whether it is this article, a bank transfer, a video call, or a stock trade,........

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