When we send a text message, or make a video call across continents, or even when a multi-billion dollar financial transaction is executed with a button press, our eyes unconsciously turn to the sky. We think that satellites and wireless communication networks are what carry our dreams and money through the ether. But the amazing and frightening reality at the same time, is that the world does not swim in space, but dives in the deepest and darkest points of planet Earth: in the bottoms of oceans.

Welcome to the world of submarine cables.. the arteries of the global economy that pulse in silence, and which have become today a scene of a complex "shadow war" of geopolitical nature.

The Myth of Space and the Reality of the Depths

"Alan Moulden", Director of Research at "TeleGeography", a company specializing in data communications, clarifies this common misconception saying: "It is very common to think that your mobile phone sends data wirelessly through the air to the world. But the reality is that the signal travels to the nearest communication tower, then to terrestrial cables, and when it needs to cross to another continent, it dives underwater through submarine cables".

  • Satellites versus Cables: Despite the importance of satellites for reaching remote areas, their carrying capacity is completely diminished compared to submarine cables which carry more than 90% of daily Internet traffic in the United Kingdom and globally, and include everything; from ordinary emails to sensitive stock trades.

"EXA Express".. The Financial Umbilical Cord

To understand the size of this network, let's look at the map of the United Kingdom which depends on about 60 submarine cables connecting it to the world.

One of the most important of these cables is called the "EXA Express" cable. This giant cable begins its journey from the city of New York, extending for a distance of 4,600 kilometers (2,858 miles) under the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, before reaching land in the town of "Brean" (Brean) on the coast of Somerset County in Britain.

This cable, which was laid in 2015, is not just a glass tube for transmitting data, but it is the "Financial Bridge" most important that connects between the world's two capitals of money: "the City" in London and "Wall Street" in New York. Any interruption in it does not mean stopping a YouTube video, but means a chaotic paralysis in financial markets.

"Hybrid Warfare".. Russian Submarines in the Bottom of the Atlantic

Because these cables represent the vital nerve of the West, they have transformed from mere technical infrastructure to a military and strategic target.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which resulted in a bloody conflict that killed and injured about a million people, NATO believes that Moscow is waging an undeclared war against Western Europe, known as "Hybrid Warfare". Its purpose? To punish Western nations and deter them from continuing their military support to Kyiv.

  • Secret operations in the depths: The British Ministry of Defense revealed a secret operation that lasted an entire month, in which three Russian spy submarines hovered over submarine cable networks and pipeline lines in the Atlantic Ocean (which Russia denied).
  • A watchful eye: Despite the British Defense Minister "John Healey" confirming that these submarines were under 24-hour surveillance (using ships like HMS St Albans) and no damage to infrastructure was recorded, the Russian message was clear.

According to Keir Giles, an expert on Russian affairs at "Chatham House", the potential sabotage of these cables should not be viewed as an isolated event, but as part of a comprehensive and systematic Russian program targeting critical Western communication infrastructure.

We live in a digital age where everything seems intangible and floating in the cloud. But ultimately, our financial stability, our national security, and our ability to communicate depend on thin glass threads lying in the pitch-dark depths beneath tons of ocean water. Submarine cables are no longer just technology; they are the new geopolitics of the twenty-first century.