The Gulf's growing AI ambitions highlight the pressing need to enhance internet infrastructure against cable disruptions.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Gulf region hinges on a surprisingly delicate factor: a limited number of undersea cables traversing some of the world’s most politically volatile waters.
Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have invested billions to build robust AI infrastructures, attracting major technological enterprises and positioning themselves as future leaders in the export of computational capacity. However, as the region transitions from a reliance on oil wealth to an AI-driven economy, the infrastructure that supports this data exchange is increasingly seen as a strategic liability.
Undersea cables have historically been the backbone of global internet connectivity. Now, they are evolving into significant geopolitical assets.
Recent tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran have underscored the precarious state of these vital cables. Reports in May suggested Iran could attempt to gain control over all seven undersea cables operating through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.
Undersea cables currently handle about 95% of all international data traffic. This concentration is alarming for Gulf nations. Much of the region’s connectivity to Europe and the US relies on only a handful of routes through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Middle East's unique geographic position makes it a focal point for global internet traffic, straddling Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Today, damage to a single cable could potentially do far more than disrupt internet speeds; it risks jeopardizing the very foundation of the Gulf’s burgeoning AI business.
In essence, Gulf countries are striving to transform financial resources derived from energy into a formidable AI landscape, exporting computational prowess akin to how they once exported fossil fuels.
As oil-rich nations prepare to establish themselves as substantial exporters of computing power, the significance of, and dependence on, these cables continues to escalate. Hyperscale companies are increasingly demanding higher levels of infrastructure resilience.
Unlike traditional internet usage, AI demands vast and continuous streams of data among hyperscale data centers, cloud services, and enterprise clients. Even brief interruptions can result in considerable operational and financial repercussions, making an enduring and resilient fiber optic network a necessity rather than a luxury.
“The needs of hyperscalers and regional telecommunications companies are evolving; they require diversification that goes beyond just bandwidth. They now demand multiple independent pathways, predictable latency, and reliability amid geopolitical tensions,” explains Imad Atwi, a partner at management consulting firm Strategy& Middle East.
The pressure on infrastructure is intensifying. In 2025, two key cables connecting Europe with the Middle East and Asia were severed in the Red Sea. This incident severely disrupted connectivity across the Gulf for several days, incurring about $3.5 billion in damages due to lost services.
This disruption occurred before the current AI surge, which has seen numerous data centers come online across the region. Hyperscalers now expect the same high standards of resilience that they rely on in transatlantic and transpacific routes, where networks typically rely on four or five physically distinct pathways to mitigate interruption risks.
In contrast, the Gulf’s internet infrastructure predominantly relies on a limited set of pathways.
“Hyperscalers are now seeking similar route diversity within the Gulf, not just for connectivity with Europe but for traffic between Europe and Asia that passes through the region,” states Bertrand Clesca, a partner at subsea cable consultancy Pioneer Consulting.
For years, the development of terrestrial and subsea routes throughout the Middle East faced numerous hurdles, including regulatory challenges and ongoing political instability.
However, many of these corridors are being reassessed as vital digital infrastructure.
Atwi outlines a three-tiered strategy materializing across the Gulf. The initial layer involves Gulf landing stations linked via terrestrial fiber routes connecting Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman. These would extend towards Europe and Asia through Jordan and the Levant.
Following this, a second layer could introduce new subsea-terrestrial infrastructures that bypass critical chokepoints like Egypt and Bab el-Mandeb, with the final layer creating northern land routes through Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Some of the region's more audacious projects encompass nations often perceived solely through the lens of conflict.
Terrestrial routes, such as the one planned through Syria, can support a staggering 144 fiber pairs, compared to the standard 24 within today's subsea cables. This dramatically enhances capacity potential. Yet, being surface-based, these routes are significantly more exposed to disruptions.
This is not merely theoretical; the JADI route—connecting Jeddah, Amman, Damascus, and Istanbul—was established shortly before Syria's descent into civil war in 2011. The ensuing conflict severed the connection, preventing its restoration. Currently, as Syria experiences a period of relative stability, Saudi Arabia’s Stc Group is investing $800 million into revitalizing this link, branded as SilkLink.
A collaborative effort comprised of companies from Iraq and the UAE is similarly advancing the $700 million WorldLink cable, which would travel under the Strait of Hormuz from the UAE to Iraq before transitioning to land cables intoward Turkey.
“Projects like WorldLink and SilkLink hold strategic significance because they foster additional East-West connectivity corridors, thereby lessening dependency on maritime chokepoints,” notes Carl Sykes from maritime risk consultants Neptune P2P Group.
A successful advancement of these initiatives could ease the Gulf's reliance on two narrow maritime lanes. However, the projects remain incomplete, and both Syria and Iraq have not proven resilient against the region's ongoing geopolitical volatility.
In conjunction with these developments, there is increasing interest in satellite connectivity as part of broader resilience strategies. Satellites offer certain advantages: they are not susceptible to easy sabotage or accidental damage. However, they fall short in data capacity compared to traditional undersea and terrestrial cables, exhibiting higher latency.
“While satellite services can play a crucial supporting role in redundancy and continuity planning, contemporary economies inherently depend on resilient fiber infrastructure,” adds Sykes.
In the short term, it's virtually impossible to replace decades of investment in submarine cables at a moment's notice.
Nevertheless, the Gulf region is beginning to understand that cross-border connectivity is not merely a means of facilitating data transfer; it has become a strategic asset—and a corresponding vulnerability. As one of the first regions globally to confront the implications of this transformation, the Gulf is actively rethinking its infrastructure to adapt. The responses adopted here could influence how other AI-centric economies address connectivity resilience in the future.