{"id":17259,"date":"2025-05-20T06:48:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ogc.org\/?p=17129"},"modified":"2025-10-09T10:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T10:19:23","slug":"the-vital-role-of-undersea-cable-infrastructure-and-the-importance-of-geospatial-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fm-connect1.fortmindz.in\/wp-ogc\/blog-article\/the-vital-role-of-undersea-cable-infrastructure-and-the-importance-of-geospatial-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vital Role of Undersea Cable Infrastructure and the Importance of Geospatial Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We don\u2019t often think about what lies beneath the ocean floor. But stretching across more than 1.3 million kilometers of seabed is a critical, largely invisible infrastructure that powers the modern world: the global network of undersea cables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These cables transmit nearly 99% of intercontinental internet traffic. They enable digital communications, financial transactions, navigation, logistics, secure government operations, and military coordination\u2014foundational services that support everyday life, global commerce, and national defense. Every day, they carry the data that drives over $10 trillion in global economic activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are the connective tissue of the digital age. And increasingly, they\u2019re under threat\u2014as Robert Cardillo, former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, warned yesterday during his remarks at the GEOINT Symposium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, I\u2019m in St. Louis for GEOINT 2025, a convening of leaders focused on geospatial intelligence and national security. It\u2019s a timely forum to examine emerging threats and strategic vulnerabilities. And few systems are more essential\u2014or more often overlooked\u2014than the cables that bind our world together beneath the sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Global System at Risk <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I learned about the importance of undersea cable infrastructure early in my career, while serving at the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)<\/strong>. Even in the early 1990s, it was clear how vital these systems were to secure communications and military readiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"cables<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since then, our reliance on them has only deepened. The explosive growth of digital platforms, data-hungry applications, and real-time global operations means more of our economy, governance, and national security runs through these cables. But while dependence has grown, so have the risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sea<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2023 alone, the UN International Telecommunication Union<\/strong> recorded nearly 200 cable failures<\/strong>. About 80% of those incidents were attributed to human activity\u2014anchors, fishing, construction, or tampering. Others were caused by natural hazards such as undersea earthquakes and landslides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"undersea<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Incidents of deliberate interference are particularly troubling. In the Baltic Sea<\/a><\/strong>, off the coast of Taiwan<\/a><\/strong>, and in other tense geopolitical zones, recent cable outages have raised concerns about sabotage. As someone who once worked to determine state actor capabilities and intent, I remember how seriously we took even the possibility of cable disruption\u2014and how catastrophic even a single incident could be for a nation\u2019s connectivity and response readiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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