High-speed internet in Serbia at risk – Connections in our country jeopardized due to Strait of Hormuz

Problems on global internet routes could also be felt in Serbia - through slower access to websites, poorer quality of video calls and slowed operation of applications that depend on servers in Asia and the Middle East.

Global Problem

Although Europe has alternative connections, such as the 2Africa cable, redirecting traffic to backup routes often means slower internet.

Experts warn that conflicts in key maritime zones could have consequences that go beyond energy and trade - the global internet infrastructure could also be under attack.

Undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are currently located in one of the riskiest areas in the world, where missile attacks, naval blockades and Houthi attacks on merchant ships are taking place in parallel.

Namely, the places through which the world’s most important digital “highways” pass are now also war zones. This is no longer just a political issue, but a situation that can directly affect the daily lives of millions of people - from video calls to banking transactions.

The world’s internet runs through cables under the sea

The war that began in late February has already had serious consequences in the region. Iran has threatened ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while attacks on ports and trade routes have led to a sharp decline in maritime traffic and a rise in oil prices.

At the same time, international organizations warn that the conflict could spread to non-military infrastructure - including energy and digital networks.

The problem is that most global internet traffic does not go via satellite, but through fiber-optic cables laid on the seabed.

It is through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz that a significant part of the connection between Europe, Asia and Africa passes - including financial transactions, cloud services, AI platforms and almost all the large digital systems we use every day.

More serious consequences than before

When the AAE-1 submarine cable was damaged in 2024, along with several others in the Red Sea, about 25% of internet traffic between Europe and Asia was affected.

Users then reported slow internet, application outages, and problems with business systems.

Experts now warn that further damage could have even more serious consequences. If a cable were cut in a war zone, the problem would not only be the failure, but also the fact that repair ships could not safely enter the area while the attacks were ongoing.

That means the internet could be slow or unstable for weeks or even months.

What would be slowed down?

The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is currently one of the most dangerous places for maritime traffic.

Several merchant ships have already been damaged, and some have been abandoned completely after the attacks. In such conditions, even regular transport is risky, let alone complex operations such as repairing undersea cables.

In the event of a more serious outage, the consequences would be felt first in Asia and Africa, but Europe would also quickly notice the slowdown.

Video calls would be delayed, online games would experience significant lag, cloud services would run slower, and banking systems could experience delays in processing transactions.

The internet would not disappear, but it would become noticeably slower and more unstable.

Strait of Hormuz

Red Sea

2Africa

finance

cloud service

AI platform