UAE Internet Disrupted After Red Sea Cable Cuts

On Sunday, a statement from e& and du, two major telecom service providers in the UAE. They said their customers might face problems due to slow connections. The telecom service providers clarified that the damage to the cable in the Red Sea is the reason for slower services. Several residents in the Emirates reported outages and slow internet over the weekend. 

Red Sea Undersea Cable Cuts Slow UAE Internet Speeds

A post shared by the company on X said that their customers may experience slowness in their data services due to an international submarine cable cut. The post further clarified that their technical teams are working to resolve this issue quickly. 

The telecom services provider also said that they will provide their customers information about the latest updates on services recovery. 

UAE’s du also said that the data speeds can be affected, and customers may experience slowness in their data services due to an international submarine cut. The company said their technical teams are working with global service providers to quickly resolve this issue. They further added that they will keep their customers updated regarding the latest updates on the restoration services. 

UAE Residents Face Disruptions due to Red Sea Cable Cut

Residents in the UAE and other countries in the region shared on social media that they faced problems in accessing websites, apps, and TV streaming. Based on the reports shared by Downdetector, the Middle East internet disruption majorly affected Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali, RAK, Al Ain, Sharjah, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain in the Emirates. It also reported that most problems faced by users were linked to landline and mobile internet and TV streaming. 

Submitting a report of slower internet services, a resident Muhammad Yousuf, posted on Downdetector that his internet is stuttering, he can’t load YouTube videos and play online games. Another resident reported that the internet is very slow all across Dubai today, and many of his friends are facing this same issue in their homes. 

Amid these challenges, tech enthusiasts are sharing updates and lessons online, making it a trending topic even in discussions about the region’s best startup story.

Waseem Ahmed, residing in Sharjah, said that he tried calling his mother in his home country on Saturday evening, but it didn’t connect. He said he later came to know that he faced that issue due to the Red cable cut issue. 

Multiple countries Faced Internet Disruptions from Fiber Cuts

Besides the Emirates, several residents in other countries in the Middle East region reported the issue of outages and slower internet services due to undersea cable damage. Downdetector said the internet users in these countries reported on X about the outages the whole Saturday. 

NetBlocks, an organization that tracks cybersecurity and internet performance, said that they detected disruptions on the UAE telecom networks, resulting in slower speeds and unstable access. The company said their engineers are working to fix this issue, which has affected multiple countries. 

Microsoft’s Azure Face High Network Latency on Middle East Routes

The US-based global tech giant, Microsoft, said its Azure cloud service platform experienced increased latency on Middle East routes. The company said this issue began at 05:45 UTC (9:45 am UAE time) on September 06 after the undersea cable damage in the Red Sea. 

The company added that the network traffic was rerouted to alternative network paths, so the services were not completely interrupted, but users faced slower connection problems. The statement on Microsoft’s official website also said that regions outside the Middle East are unaffected, and they are working on the issue, and will share updates soon. 

The cause of Middle East internet disruption is unclear. The internet services were much improved compared to Saturday and Sunday morning. However, the experts said that the users might face issues of slower connections for some days or weeks. There are concerns that the cables in the Red Sea might be attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen, though they have denied such attacks in the past. It could be the case that anchors dropped from ships caused undersea cable damage, as 70% of past cases were accidental. 

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