Tech giant Meta reportedly halted construction on the Arabian Gulf segment of its massive 2Africa subsea cable network, as the ongoing war freezes marine operations in the region.

What happened? Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), the French state-owned contractor laying the fiber, has issued force majeure notices to its clients stating it cannot currently fulfill its contracts, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources. ASN’s installation vessel, the Ile De Batz, is currently stranded near Dammam in Saudi Arabia.

ICYMI- The 2Africa submarine telecoms cable landed in the UAE earlier this year and was integrated into e&’s UAE SmartHub data center. The cable was the latest in a string of other subsea links, including the Al Khaleej subsea data cable linking Bahrain to the UAE and other Gulf states, the ICE IV cable linking Southeast Asia to the Gulf, and the UAE-Oman fiber link connecting Dubai with Barka and Salalah.

Why it matters

We could be looking at significant delays to work on the next-generation digital infrastructure in the Gulf. Work has reportedly also stopped on the Sea-Me-We 6 cable and Ooredoo’s FIG project.

The impact could be a heavier reliance on overland infrastructure. Internet traffic can be rerouted through terrestrial cables across Saudi Arabia and Oman, telecommunications research firm TeleGeography’s Alan Mauldin told the business information service. While this keeps the region connected, regional internet speeds could slow down as capacity is stretched, Mauldin explained.

The physical vulnerability of digital infrastructure is now in stark focus. Routine maintenance is virtually impossible right now, as repair ships will not operate in active military zones. This means any active cables damaged by the anchors of targeted ships — a scenario we saw play out in the Red Sea last year — will be offline for a long time.

CLOSER TO HOME- The delay could put a spanner in the Emirates’ agenda of becoming a regional traffic hub, as the UAE has been building a dense web of connectivity to form a digital bridge between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Growing AI compute in the region is also a key factor in the UAE’s connectivity drive, with megaprojects like the UAE-US 5 GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi likely to come with high workloads.

What’s next?

Even when the shooting stops, the subsea cable rollout won’t resume immediately. Intercepted Iranian missiles have left a trail of unexploded ordnance in the Gulf. The seafloor will have to be surveyed before cable layers can safely drop a single line, Mauldin said.

The persistent geopolitical risk could push tech giants to look for ways to bypass the Middle East altogether. Meta’s long-term backup plan, Project Waterworth, aims to connect the US, India, South Africa, and Brazil, though it remains years away from completion.

Tags: