According to the chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, India is working towards creating a conducive regulatory framework to attract investments in the submarine cable systems segment, with the country’s total lit capacity rising 60 per cent year-on-year to 309 Tbps by end-December 2025.
He said total activated capacity also increased by 81 per cent during the same period compared to a year ago. Investments in submarine cable infrastructure in India are being driven by rapid digital expansion, growing internet penetration, the Digital India programme and the IndiaAI Mission, he added, noting that the country is expected to witness one of the fastest growth rates in the submarine cable market with a compounded annual growth rate of about 7.4 per cent.
He pointed out that major technology firms such as Google, Meta and Amazon are increasingly investing in submarine cable projects, shifting from being customers to primary owners of such infrastructure.
Citing market estimates, he said subsea cables currently carry nearly 95–99 per cent of global intercontinental data traffic and continue to serve as the backbone of the global internet. The global submarine cable industry is projected to reach $32.8 billion in 2026 and expand to $60.5 billion by 2036, growing at around 6.3 per cent annually.
Further, he said TRAI’s recommendations are aimed at simplifying licensing and regulatory procedures while fostering investment, innovation and operational efficiency in the sector. Key proposals include classifying cable landing stations (CLS) into main CLS and CLS point-of-presence (PoP) to streamline approvals, permitting international long-distance operators and internet service providers to extend dark fibre from main CLS to CLS PoPs, and improving infrastructure preparedness through coastal cable depots and incentives for Indian-flagged repair vessels.
The recommendations also cover allowing domestic submarine cables under a national long-distance licence with safeguards for non-discriminatory access and traffic separation, along with measures such as tax exemptions and waiver of right-of-way charges.
Furthermore, he added that stronger international cooperation and regulatory frameworks would be crucial to enhance security and resilience of submarine cable networks. He also emphasised the need for robust cybersecurity and continuous threat monitoring for cloud infrastructure.
He concluded that policymakers, telecom operators, cloud providers and technology firms must ensure that the evolving ecosystem spanning subsea cables, terrestrial networks, satellite systems and scalable cloud platforms is resilient, secure and inclusive.
