Microsoft warns of internet delays after Red Sea cable cuts

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Microsoft announced that some Azure cloud service users may face slower connections following multiple undersea fiber optic cable cuts in the Red Sea.

The company said disruptions are most likely when internet traffic from the Middle East originates in or terminates in Asia or Europe.

Several subsea cables were also damaged on September 6, 2025, disrupting global internet and communications flows. Connectivity remains available, but rerouted traffic has caused increased latency and congestion on major international routes.

“Undersea fiber cuts can take time to repair,” Microsoft said in a service update, noting it will “continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimise routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime” and provide daily updates or sooner if conditions change.

The Red Sea is a critical internet corridor linking Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Earlier this year, damage to four cables near Yemen cut off about 25 percent of global internet traffic, affecting major providers and platforms worldwide.

According to a 2017 study by the US Department of Homeland Security, about 97 percent of all intercontinental electronic communications travel through undersea fiber optic cables.