Red Sea cable cuts disrupted up to 70% of traffic, says RETN

A call for resilient networks

O’Sullivan stressed that long-term investments are essential to ensure network resilience.

“It’s primarily about ensuring you have sufficient diverse paths and that you have a network architecture which allows for rapid scaling in the event of long-term outages on individual routes,” he explained. “Also, a case of capacity planning and making sure you are not running your network at the limit constantly.”

According to O’Sullivan, the industry’s focus on cost-saving and short-term thinking has left it vulnerable. He criticized the reliance on just two or three ultra-high capacity cables driven by over-the-top (OTT) providers such as major tech companies, which have different network requirements from traditional telecom providers.

This limited diversity in infrastructure has increased the risk of widespread disruptions, he added.

To mitigate these vulnerabilities, RETN has itself increased the number of network routes it uses, especially in regions facing higher geopolitical risks, such as the Red Sea and South-East Asia.

“We are increasing the number of network routes into all territories, but with a specific focus on those where risks are higher,” he said.