ChokepointsAnalysis
Six subsea internet cables cross Hormuz; four Gulf states lack alternative routes
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar route all international subsea traffic through the strait, with no landing outside it.
Six live subsea internet cables cross the Strait of Hormuz, carrying international data traffic for Gulf states, according to TeleGeography data published October 23, 2026. The cables are 2Africa, AAE-1, FALCON, GBI, Tata TGN-Gulf and OMRAN/EPEG. Two additional cables, FIG and SEA-ME-WE 6, are under construction with completion scheduled for 2027, bringing the total to eight. The International Telecommunication Union states that submarine cables carry more than 99 percent of international data traffic.
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar route all traffic through strait#
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have no subsea cable landing outside the Gulf, meaning all international subsea traffic for those four countries passes through Hormuz. Iraq has three live cables landing at Al Faw. Kuwait has five cables, Bahrain has five and Qatar has seven, but FOG, Qatar-UAE and Kuwait-Iran remain within the Gulf. That leaves Kuwait with three routes out of the Gulf, Bahrain with four and Qatar with five. Iraq is constructing a land route from Al Faw to the Turkish border with Ooredoo, with no completion date disclosed.
UAE has 14 cables landing outside strait at Fujairah and Kalba#
The UAE has six cables landing on its Gulf coast and 14 landing at Fujairah and Kalba on the Gulf of Oman, outside the strait. Oman has two cables at Khasab, 11 on its Gulf of Oman coast, and five at Salalah and Qalhat on the Arabian Sea. Saudi Arabia has four cables at Al Khobar on the Gulf and 14 on the Red Sea at Jeddah, Yanbu, Duba and Haql. Two Red Sea cables were cut near Jeddah in September 2025, according to the source.
Satellite capacity at 0.005 percent of cable route in hypothetical comparison#
A hypothetical submarine cable route with 20 terabits per second of usable capacity compared with a satellite backup link at 1 gigabit per second would see the satellite connection replace 0.005 percent of the cable route's capacity, Gulf News reported October 28, 2026. To match a 20 terabits per second cable route using 1 gigabit per second satellite links, operators would require 20,000 such links running simultaneously at full rated capacity. The calculation is a mathematical illustration rather than a measurement of actual satellite network capacity, and real submarine cables and satellite systems vary in capacity. Cable repair times range from days to weeks depending on damage, weather, vessel availability and operating conditions.
Sources4 sources across 3 domains
- al-monitor.comAl-MonitorIRGC political chief warned about targeting undersea internet cables in Hormuz
- al-monitor.comAl-MonitorLess than 1 percent of international bandwidth passes through Strait of Hormuz per TeleGeography
- gulfnews.comGulf NewsSubmarine cables carry more than 99 percent of international data traffic per ITU; satellite capacity comparison and repair timeframes
- hellenicshippingnews.comHellenic Shipping NewsSix live cables cross Hormuz with two under construction; country-by-country cable counts and landing locations per TeleGeography data
Each source above carries the claim it supports. Links open the publisher's own page; their text is not reproduced here beyond what the claim requires, and their rights remain theirs.
MENA Trade Monitor is published by Arabian Media Network. Pieces are produced by the Chokepoint Watch with AI-assisted synthesis of the cited sources and automated verification against the network's editorial policy. Every piece carries a desk rather than a reporter. Corrections are recorded on the piece and on the corrections page.
Transits, closures, advisories, war risk premia and rerouting cost for Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and Suez. Same day, same shape, always numbers.