UNDERSEA CABLESLet’s Take a Close Look at How We Protect Our Undersea Cables
We rely ever more heavily on the connectivity that cables provide and, with capacity-hungry 6G on the horizon, the need will only grow. Yet, little has been done to protect undersea cales from accidental or deliberate disruption.
The number of subsea cables landing in Australia has more than doubled since the legislation to create protection zones for these vital pieces of infrastructure was passed in 2005.
We rely ever more heavily on the connectivity that cables provide and, with capacity-hungry 6G on the horizon, the need will only grow.
And yet, aside from some tinkering five years in—and that happened only because of a mandatory review—the legislation has not been updated in the nearly two decades that have passed since it came into effect. That needs to change, given the risks of sabotage or accident have only increased as more cables are connected, and our way of life becomes more reliant on these data pathways. We are well overdue for a proper review and update.
The changes in 2005 to the Telecommunications Act 1997 established protection zones for submarine cables of national significance. The new Schedule 3A prohibited activities in these zones that would likely result in damage to the cables, such as fishing using gear that rests on or near the seabed, and also introduced criminal penalties for damaging cables.
Australia’s framework has been considered a ‘gold standard’—probably in part because it criminalized damage to cables, fulfilling an obligation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
There is some redundancy and resilience in the industry thanks to the number of subsea cables, with landing stations as far flung as the Sunshine Coast, Port Headland and Darwin—with more proposed. And of course, providers don’t want their cables cut or damaged given it means unhappy customers and reputational harm to their business. Companies therefore tend to have business continuity plans in the event of a disruption.
Yet it is a telling indicator that no new protection zones have been established since the original three were declared in 2007, with two in Sydney and one in Perth. But that only covers about two thirds of Australia’s cable landing sites, counting spurs and mainland connections to nearby islands – including Tasmania. It would be an obvious worry if providers don’t feel the zones are worth the effort to register.
Under the 2005 law, the Australian Communications and Media Authority can declare zones of its own initiative or accept applications from a carrier for a new zone. An application comes with a price tag of $161,251.
