- Red Sea submarine cable outages increase Azure latency on routes across the Middle East.
- Microsoft is mitigating the impact with traffic diversions, but delays persist in certain operations.
- Issues with systems such as SMW4 and IMEWE are affecting countries such as India and Pakistan, according to NetBlocks and local operators.
- The EU and Spain are promoting greater redundancy and resilience to protect connectivity and digital sovereignty.
Microsoft Azure cloud services record Latency increases on routes through the Middle East following several cuts in submarine fiber cables in the Red Sea. The company itself has acknowledged the incident and has activated contingency measures to maintain service continuity.
To reduce the impact, Microsoft has rerouted some traffic to alternative routes; however, some customers will notice slower operations than usual. According to the company, Traffic not dependent on that corridor does not present any problems. and continues to function normally.
High latency in Azure due to damage to Red Sea cables
On its status portal, Microsoft notes that Azure traffic traversing the Middle East may experience longer response times due to breaks detected. Mitigation involves rerouting, although The company admits response times that are longer than usual while the network stabilizes.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks and operators in the region reported outages near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with repercussions in several countries. According to these reports, India and Pakistan recorded downgrades during peak usage hours, with fluctuations in international connectivity.
Affected systems include SMW4 and IMEWE, with incidents dating back to September 6. Microsoft indicates that it will continue adjusting routing and will publish regular updates as they advance repair work, in as much as SMW4 and IMEWE are among the affected systems. and its full restitution may be delayed.
Submarine cables: critical infrastructure under test
Submarine cables hold more than 95% of international traffic Data, and despite their robustness, they are not without risks: from accidental anchor dragging to technical failures or intentional damage. Repairing them requires complex logistics and good weather windows, so high latencies can be prolonged while operating on alternative routes.
The Red Sea episodes are not isolated. At the beginning of 2024, significant changes were observed in that same area., with an impact between Asia and Europe. In that context, different hypotheses were considered and Asia and Europe noticed interruptions, which demonstrated the sensitivity of these strategic corridors.
The case study is reminiscent of other incidents in northern Europe, where damage to cables and gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea was investigated. In one of those cases, the Swedish prosecutor's office found Indications of sabotage investigated in the Baltic, stressing the need to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure.
Consequences for digital businesses and services
For any organization with cloud workloads, latency is a key factorA sustained increase may affect critical applications and financial services, to the inference of artificial intelligence models and real-time analytics, in addition to worsening the user experience and service level agreements.
In Europe, and particularly in Spain, the migration of systems to the cloud continues to rise. This episode reopens the debate on the need for diversify routes and strengthen resilience against failures in corridors with high traffic concentration, such as the Red Sea or the Mediterranean.
Microsoft, the world's second largest cloud provider by share, has rebalanced traffic with alternative routes with higher latencies, which keeps services operational even though some processes are delayed. The company will continue monitoring the network and adjusting routing as cable repairs progress.
Resilience and digital sovereignty in Europe
The situation highlights the link between long-distance connectivity and technological autonomy. The European Commission insists on strengthening the redundancy and coordination at European level to reduce risks, with a special focus on critical cross-border infrastructure.
Spain aims to consolidate itself as a digital hub in southern Europe with new data centers and transatlantic cablesThe lesson is clear: resilience must be built into infrastructure design, combining route diversity, operator agreements, and proven contingency plans.
With the Red Sea cuts still being repaired and traffic reassigned, latency in Microsoft Azure This will continue to be an indicator to watch for businesses and IT administrators. A rapid response and route redesign have cushioned the blow, but the episode confirms that the submarine cable map remains a single point of failure that requires sustained investment and coordination.
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