The Internet Cable Breaks Every Week!

Why It Matters

Frequent but quickly repaired undersea cable breaks pose ongoing operational and logistical risks for global connectivity; maintaining redundancy and rapid repair capability is crucial to prevent regional outages and protect internet-dependent business operations.

Summary

Although undersea internet cables are engineered to last 25 years, they sustain frequent damage — on average two to four breaks globally each week. Outages are rarely felt by users because repair ships rapidly locate faults, cut and retrieve the damaged ends, test the intact sections, and splice in replacement cable segments. The repair cycle involves deliberately cutting the cable near the fault, hauling both ends aboard for inspection, and joining a new length — a process that can take several days. Network operators also reroute traffic across alternate cables to maintain service during repairs.

Original Description

With global subsea lines suffering an average of 2 to 4 damage incidents every week, specialized maritime repair ships remain on constant standby.

Upon identifying a localized fault, the crew drops a specialized cutting tool to sever the line on the seabed, pulling the operational side up to the deck to isolate and verify signal integrity. This live section is sealed, attached to a surface marker buoy, and returned to the water while the hull maneuvers to recover the opposing broken side.