The Hidden Highways Under the Sea That Carry Your Money, Your Email and America's Power
About 99% of the world's internet traffic travels through cables on the ocean floor. A break off Indonesia this fall shows how fragile they are. We argue Washington's new rules to keep China out are overdue and wise.
By Clara Hughes
Altas World News Opinion Estimated read time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Submarine cables carry roughly 99% of global internet traffic, according to the Federal Communications Commission, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says they facilitate more than $10 trillion in financial transactions every day [1][2]. A break on the Australia-Singapore Cable, first detected in early September, is not expected to be repaired until around Nov. 4, owner Vocus says [3][4]. In our view, the FCC's cable-security rules, adopted in 2025 under the guidance of President Trump's America First Investment Policy and expanded by a second set that took effect Sept. 25, are a smart defense of infrastructure most Americans never see [1][5]. The internet is not in the sky Ask most people how an email gets from New York to London, and they will guess satellites. The truth is far more down to earth, or rather down to the seafloor. The Federal Communications Commission says submarine cable systems carry "roughly 99% of global internet traffic" [1]. When you send a text overseas, watch a video hosted abroad or make a bank transfer, the data most likely races through glass fibers lying on the bottom of the ocean. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called the cables "the unsung heroes of global communications, carrying 99% of all Internet traffic and facilitating over $10 trillion in financial transactions every day" [2]. The scale is staggering. The International Cable Protection Committee, an industry group, says the world's network includes about 500 cable systems and roughly 1.8 million kilometers of cable, more than 1.1 million miles [6]. An old American concern Here is a fact few people know: Washington has worried about these cables for more than a century. The FCC notes that the United States has recognized their importance since at least the Submarine Cable Act of 1888, and the Commission has regulated them since a 1954 executive order [1]. Today the stakes are much higher. There are 90 FCC-licensed cable…