An underwater communication cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based

stations to transport telecommunication signals through ocean and sea stretches

Submarine fiber optic cables carry the overwhelming majority of international

telecommunications—roughly 95%.1 The Internet’s infrastructure, as well as e-mail, social
media, phone, and banking networks, is formed by the global submarine network; products
and services that we now take for granted.

So like there is no doubt these unseen and unsung cables are the true skeleton and nerve of
our world, linking our countries together in a fiber optic web.2

Since a trans-oceanic cable will cost up to $500 million, these firms often join consortiums
of 20-30 telecommunications companies to finance the design, installation, and maintenance
of a new cable in exchange for a proportionate share of bandwidth3.
The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), established in 1958, is a trade
association whose members include the owners, operators, and manufacturers of more than
97 percent of the world’s international submarine cable networks.4

. The ICPC provides Recommendations on various submarine cable issues and has been
instrumental in preserving the security of the submarine cable network by collaborating with
states, foreign bodies, and other seabed users. It’s worth noting at this point that, unlike ships,
cables are not registered to any country.5

Submarine cable safety is a critical national security issue in the United Kingdom, according
to policymakers, who contend that the cables’ current legal status is unclear. 6 Several
situations placed submarine cables in jeopardy, jeopardizing the reliability of cabled landing
sites and undersea paths. The three main categories of risk are a lack of network diversity,
natural disasters, and human activity (both unintentional and intentional).7
1
CARTER ET AL., supra note 9, at 8.
2
U.N. GAOR, 65th Sess., 59th plen. mtg. at 4, U.N. Doc. A/65/PV.59 (Dec. 7, 2010).
3
Ibid.
4
INT’L CABLE PROT. COMM. (Jul. 24, 2015),
https://www.iscpc.org/about-the-icpc/.
5
Convention on the High Seas, art. 2, Apr. 29, 1958, 450 U.N.T.S. 82, 83-84.
6
Mick Green, The Submarine Cable Industry: How Does it Work? in SUBMARINE CABLES: THE
HANDBOOK OF LAW AND POLICY 41, 42 (Douglas R. Burnett et al. eds., 2014).
7
Ibid.
The lack of variety in cable routes is one significant weakness of the current undersea cable
network. Landing sites are often selected depending on how easy it is to build facilities, and
as a result, cables get choked at one landing stage
Intentional and unintentional human activity
Cable outages are caused by bottom-tending commercial fishing equipment and associated
dredging, which account for 40% of all outages
Undersea cable sabotage is a possibility during periods of war or through transnational
terrorism, but such events have traditionally been uncommon.

1884 Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables

30 states signed the Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables8 in 1884
. The convention provides civil liability for any behaviour that causes a party to break or
damage a submarine cable,
either intentionally or through culpable error, in such a way as to disrupt or impede
telegraphic contact, either wholly or partially.

1958 Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea9

The later identification of the continental shelf as a modern geographic expansion of

exclusive state rights within territorial waters necessitated amendments to the 1884
Convention’s recognition of an exclusive state jurisdiction cap of three nautical miles.10
This modification was particularly notable for cables submerged in or laid on the seabed. At
the writing of the Articles Concerning the Law of the Sea, no state objected to another state’s
right to lay submarine cables and secure them later.

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea11 (UNCLOS) is a key legal text in the
system that governs who owns and maintains undersea cable routes. The legal provisions of
8
Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables (Paris, 14 March 1884).
9
The Conventions and Protocol are the product of the (first) United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea,
held in Geneva from 24 February to 27 April 1958.
10
Mick Green, The Submarine Cable Industry: How Does it Work? in SUBMARINE CABLES: THE
HANDBOOK OF LAW AND POLICY 41, 42 (Douglas R. Burnett et al. eds., 2014).
the 1958 Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea, as well as some of the mandates of the
1884 Convention, were renegotiated, subsumed, or extended in UNCLOS.
While many nations have not ratified the convention, its provisions pertaining to common
ocean uses are considered customary international law.

Domestic Indian perepctive

India occupies a strategic position on the global submarine map

India has the potential to be one of the world’s fastest-growing state and take lead in the
region.
Countries are rapidly introducing e-transactions for inland and foreign economic operations,
as well as for security reasons, resulting in increased demand for international
telecommunication. This is supported by the government of India’s latest policies for Digital
India, cashless transactions, and e-commerce.12

In addition to many other notifications, circulars, and regulations provided by various

Governmental Departments regarding India’s Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf Exclusive
Economic Zone, and Others, The Martitime Zones of India MZI Act13 provides measures for
submarine cable service.

LACK OF RECOGNITION

Although India appears to have a sound submarine cable regime, the legislative and structural
structure reflects a convoluted cable regulatory scheme with many flaws. To begin with,
neither of these instruments mention cable safety within its territorial waters or EEZ. 14
Second, when dealing with cable operations in India’s EEZ, the Indian Customs Act 1962,
immigration rules, and the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 apply to submarine cable ships, their
instruments, and crews. Furthermore, the use of a permit regime for cable repair operations is
11
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention
or the Law of the Sea treaty, is an international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982.
12
Ibid.
13
Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
14
Utpal Kumar Raha, Submarine Telecommunication Cable Infrastructure In South Asia Under International
Law: Opportunity For Sri Lanka And India, (2018) 26 Sri Lanka JIL 79.
incompatible with UNCLOS requirements.15 It’s worth noting that cable companies have
complete freedom to lay submarine cable in these waters. These various standards are
undoubtedly time intensive and inefficient in nature, which has a negative impact on
telecommunication effectiveness. The security concerns of coastal states clash with other
countries’ telecommunications interests.16

The relevant Indian legal regulations dealing with maritime areas on which the Union of
India has territorial rights over ocean resources are Sections 6 and 7 of the MZI Act. The
Supreme Court of India correctly pointed out and debated the definition of individual rights
and its distinction from sovereignty in the Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd. case17.

In its EEZ, the coastal state has only sovereign privileges to resource extraction, not
jurisdiction in the form of territoriality or dominium.
in many cases, including Italy v. India 18 where, Chief Justice Altamas Kabir ruled that “a
State can have territorial rights over a region that falls short of full jurisdiction... and the
EEZ continues to be part of the High Seas over which no country can exercise sovereignty.”

MAJOR ISSUE
In the case of discovery or extraction of the EEZ’s natural resources, a similar arrangement,
permission, or letter of authority issued by the Indian government is needed.19

This provision does not seem to have cable activities. Since submarine cables do not
represent a “artificial island,” “off-shore port,” or “installation,” the section’s terminology
shows that it refers to oil and gas operations. “Furthermore, Sections 6(7) and 7(8) of the MZI
Act expressly mention submarine cables. By reading the act as a whole, it seems that the
legislature did not intend for cables to be included under Section 6(4). As a result, no license
or letter of authority from the Indian government is needed for cable operations in this
maritime region.20

15
Ibid.
16
Rapp et al., ‘India’s Critical Role in the Resilience of the Global Undersea Communications Cable
Infrastructure’, (2012), 36(3) Strategic Analysis, (375-383) at 378.
17
Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd. & Anr. v Union of India & Ors., (2008) 11 SCC 439 [71].
18
Republic of Italy & Ors. v Union of India & Ors., (2013) 4 SCC 721.
19
Section 7(5), Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
20
Utpal Kumar Raha & Raju K. D., Submarine Telecommunication Cable Infrastructure in South Asia under
International Law: Opportunity for Sri Lanka and India, 26 Sri LANKA J. INT’l L. 79 (2018).
At this time, it is unlikely that any conflicts over submarine cable laying and maintenance, or
cable safety, would be taken to arbitration by any state.

\SUGGESTIONS CONCLUSION

Today’s global society’s networking is increasingly reliant on international

telecommunication, which is enabled by submarine cable operations
As previously stated, balancing steps for submarine cable service and other overlapping
maritime operations are grossly ignored by both foreign and national levels outside territorial
waters

Human-caused vandalism of submarine cable networks remains a constant problem, with

disastrous consequences for the global economy and stability.

Instead of regulations dispersed around many pieces of law, it would be preferable to follow a
specific collection of procedures for cable fixes, implemented and decided upon by central
and local government agencies. Second, the parent legislation and implementing regulations
should be simplified in order to strengthen and promote India’s role in the global submarine
cable market, as well as match its laws with the international legal framework for submarine
cables.
.