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Widespread internet service outages have been reported in the UAE, parts of the Middle East, India, and Pakistan following the severance of cables in the Red Sea. Users reported that internet speeds slowed to a crawl in the country over the weekend.
Microsoft confirmed that the cable disruptions had degraded internet usage in several countries. Its Azure cloud services were among those affected.
Internet observatory NetBlocks said the disruption was reported at the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
ℹ️ Update: Meanwhile similar internet disruptions have been observed on Etilasat and Du networks in the United Arab Emirates, resulting in slow speeds and intermittent access as engineers work to resolve the issue impacting multiple countries pic.twitter.com/hEYIi4G6hj
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 7, 2025
Services appeared to be improving by Sunday morning, with major network providers Du and Etisalat showing some lingering disruptions as reported by DownDetector.com.
The cause of the cable severance is still unclear. Subsea cables can be cut by anchors dropped from ships, and about 70 per cent of past incidents were accidental. However, there are concerns that the cables could have been targeted by foreign actors, due to rising tensions in the Red Sea.
The Red Sea is a critical chokepoint for global telecommunications, connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia through Egypt. Repairing subsea cables is a challenging, expensive, and time-consuming process, often taking weeks or months, according to the Internet Cable Protection Committee. Operations in the area are further complicated, particularly as Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue to attack vessels in the area.
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