A coalition of Europe’s top telecom operators and subsea infrastructure players—including Alcatel Submarine Networks, Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica, and Telenor—have issued an open letter to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and NATO, calling for urgent coordination to secure Europe’s critical subsea cable infrastructure. The group highlights a growing risk landscape, citing recent incidents in the Baltic and North Sea, and urges deeper collaboration between governments and industry to implement the EU Action Plan on Cable Security.
The signatories stress that subsea cables are foundational to Europe’s connectivity, economic competitiveness, and defence readiness. They support increased investment in surveillance, monitoring, and protection technologies, and call for harmonized approaches that integrate risk-based best practices across public and private stakeholders. The letter champions the Connected Europe Facility (CEF) as a key funding mechanism, while also urging NATO and UK authorities to align resources and strategy.
The message is clear: Europe’s network resilience depends on more than just redundancy—it demands agile response capabilities, rapid repair systems, and streamlined permitting and governance frameworks. The industry coalition believes that enhanced public-private partnerships and stronger security screening protocols must underpin the effort to secure subsea infrastructure against growing hybrid threats.
• Call to Action: Major operators including Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica, Sparkle, and GlobalConnect urge joint EU–UK–NATO response to hybrid threats targeting subsea cables.
• Security Priority: Subsea cables are vital to Europe’s digital economy, cross-border communications, and defence infrastructure.
• EU Action Plan Backed: Industry supports the EU Cable Security Action Plan and the expansion of the Connected Europe Facility (CEF) to fund surveillance and protection technologies.
• Coordination with Industry: Emphasis on structured dialogue with telecom and cable ecosystem players to align security goals with operational feasibility.
• Redundancy & Resilience: Advocates for additional terrestrial and subsea routes, streamlined permitting, and investment in rapid detection and repair capabilities.
