Undersea cable connecting Norway with Svalbard Islands gets mysteriously damaged

London: – The Undersea fibreoptic cable connecting Norway with the Svalbard Islands in the Arctic has suffered damages under mysterious circumstances. The Internet services in the Svalbard Islands, a part of Norway, have been disrupted and a possibility of hampering the functioning of a critical satellite station has surfaced. The reason for the snag could not be ascertained. But only two days ago, the UK defence chief had threatened Russia that any damage or snapping of undersea cables would be treated as an act of war.

Svalbard Islands is a group of islands between the North Pole and Norway under the Norwegian administration. This island with negative temperatures houses Svalbard Satellite Station and a world-renowned Cold Storage warehouse. Svalbard Islands, far from Norway, are connected with Norway with two undersea fibreoptic cables to maintain perpetual communication. It is claimed that the Svalbard Islands’ internet services and other communication depend on these cables.

But since 7th January, one of the cables has mysteriously stopped functioning. Space Norway, the company responsible for maintaining the cables, revealed this information on 10th January. The company said that the cable had developed a snag. The company has not revealed the extent of damage or its cause. Therefore, suspicion of sabotage also is surfacing.

The Space Norway company said that it would be necessary to send a ship to repair works. The company has expressed fears that if the second cable also gets damaged, the internet services and communication with Svalbard Islands will collapse and Svalbard Islands will be in darkness.

There is a network of nearly 100 satellite antennas in the satellite station at Svalbard. These antennas help connect to the satellites in the orbits around the North Pole. Vital information regarding the earth’s rotation is collected at these two satellite centres. One of the satellite stations is in Svalbard. Therefore, damage to the undersea cable is a matter of grave concern. 97% of the global internet services are dependent on undersea cables. Thus, as per international analysts, damage to the undersea cables could become a declaration of war. A few days ago, the UK defence chief had expressed concerns over the security of the undersea cables, with the increase in the movements of the Russian submarines in the marine sector near the United Kingdom. He also had warned that any damage to the undersea cables would become an incitement for war.