Last month, parts of the UAE briefly experienced email service disruptions that telecom provider Etisalat blamed on damage to an undersea cable.
It was a relatively mundane event, causing minimal alarm to the public.
But elsewhere, a much higher stakes game is being played over the cables that connect continents and countries, carrying 99 per cent of international data, including phone calls and messages.
Russia reportedly came perilously close to strategic undersea communications cables while conducting military exercises in the seas off Ireland this month.
The drills represent "an overlooked element of a potential Russian escalation: an effort to blind the world to events unfolding in Ukraine”, according to Justin Sherman, a non-resident fellow at the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council.
He warned that in addition to preparing for cyber activity from Russia against Ukraine and other pro-Ukraine countries, “Kiev and its allies must prepare for the potential targeting of internet cables".
Amid rising geopolitical tensions around the globe, the European Commission this week said enough is enough on undersea cables. It will turn to space for “backup".
On Tuesday it set out a plan to spend $6.8 billion on internet satellites as part of efforts to minimise the EU's dependence on foreign companies and safeguard data against outside interference.
“Our new connectivity infrastructure will deliver high-speed internet access, serve as a backup to our current internet infrastructure, increase our resilience and cyber security and provide connectivity to the whole of Europe and Africa,” EU industry chief Thierry Breton said in a statement.
The massive project, expected to launch next year, will be funded from the EU budget, EU countries, the European Space Agency and private investments.
The move comes amid a deluge of satellites headed to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), many of them dedicated to providing high-speed internet back on Earth, led mainly by Elon Musk's Starlink company.
In total, there were around 7,500 satellites in LEO as of September 2021, according to the United Nations' Outer Space Objects Index.
Undersea cables are by no means a perfect system, and satellites are fast becoming the chosen alternative.
As of today, close to 1.3 million kilometres of cable — enough to string to the Moon more than three times — make up the circulatory system of global internet traffic.
This undersea network is owned by a large group of global companies that provide the high-speed broadband connectivity critical to trade and communications around the globe.
These companies follow a “safety in numbers” approach — spreading their networks' capacity over multiple cables in case one breaks, Dr Chaouki Kasmi, chief researcher of directed energy at the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, told The National.
But disruptions are routine. Worldwide, nearly 100 cable outages occur each year, according to Dr Kasmi.
“Most recently, the volcanic eruption in Tonga has once again revealed the vulnerabilities in our telecommunications system,” he said, referring to the natural disaster that shredded 80km of cable earlier this month.
Fishing vessels and ships dragging anchors account for two-thirds of all cable faults, he added.
The damage is costly — with ripple effects on the global financial sector, commerce and worker productivity.
According to one estimate by the International Cable Protection Committee, interruptions have a financial impact of at least $1.5 million for every hour of outage.
“Given the slow, tedious and expensive process required for laying underwater cables, not all countries are able to fund cable installation,” Mr Kasmi said. “Underwater creatures have been seen chewing on the cables.”
Given these factors, it is no wonder undersea cables are set to be pushed out by satellites. But they have their advantages, Mr Kasmi said.
“These cables offer various benefits that weigh in favour of our continuing reliance on them.”
For now, cables are more cost-effective than satellites.
“Undersea cables are designed to offer higher bandwidth and low latency with high reliability and greater security as they are difficult to tap,” he said.
The cables are also designed to last a quarter of a century, while LEO satellites have a shelf life of only 10 years.
And we are getting faster at detecting and fixing issues with undersea cables, including the use of autonomous underwater robots to locate cable breaks and repair them.
“The key vulnerability issues that concern us today relate to the geopolitical and confidentiality aspects of these cables,” Mr Kasmi said.
In the long term, he predicted cables and satellites will “work together to increase resilience until one of them becomes more economical than the other".
For now, though, there is no perfect system.
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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AT%20A%20GLANCE
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The%20trailblazers
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The%20specs
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LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMuse%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWarner%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
