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resilient with a core design architecture that has an ability to re-route calls to diverse networks with minimal downtime and high levels of redundancy,” he explains.

The damage to cables had led to a cold war between RCom and Bharti Airtel which is part of the consortium operating SEAMEWE-4. While RCom reportedly said Bharti was overcharging up to 12 times for providing additional capacity for 15 days on its i2i cable network, Bharti dismissed the allegations. Both Bharti and VSNL had re-routed the traffic to Pacific side through i2i SEMEWE cables, respectively.

Also, more cables are being strewn across ocean floors. Alcatel-Lucent and a consortium of nine operators, including Bharti Airtel and VSNL, are also deploying a 13,000-km submarine cable network linking Mumbai to Marseilles in France. India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) will meet the need for enhanced, backhaul communications capabilities along the India- Western Europe route, as well as for increased capacity to support high-bandwidth broadband services.

Industry experts point out carriers should procure capacities from more than one system specially having cable running through different routes. They should also keep in place restoration arrangements among themselves in such events. “Bandwidth is a perishable item and should be utilised properly. Rather than one cable network on one route, there should be multiple cables so that services are not affected in case of damage to undersea cables,” says Chharia.

With more than 50 repairs a year in the Atlantic alone, cables breaks are not new to the world. Cables can be broken by fishing trawlers, anchoring, undersea avalanches, shark bites, or even by enemy forces.