What are the biggest challenges for Europe’s subsea telecommunications cables? In a recent briefing note from the ECDPM (European Centre for Development Policy Management), author Sasha Pearson argues that the central challenge is not hybrid attacks or physical threats, but rather the accelerating concentration of ownership and operational control in the hands of non-EU actors.
This transformation is reshaping the connectivity landscape, exposing Europe to strategic decisions made outside its regulatory reach, and raising fundamental questions about Europe’s digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy. As such, the publication calls for a coordinated European response, involving coherent investment frameworks, closer public-private cooperation, the establishment of a European subsea cable governance authority, and a strategy simultaneously addressing security, industry, and digital sovereignty.
The note also mentions GÉANT’s approach as a key example of how coordinated demand aggregation can secure long-term access to strategically relevant international and intercontinental connectivity, without requiring full ownership of subsea infrastructure. Initiatives such as the BELLA Programme and the Global Gateway flagship project Medusa are cited as practical examples of this approach.
Read the full note here: https://ecdpm.org/work/troubled-waters-europes-subsea-telecommunications-network
