BIF meet focuses on subsea cables and digital cloud

The Broadband India Forum (BIF) convened its first Convergent Conference on Subsea Cables and Digital Cloud Infrastructure under the theme “Connecting Continents, Scaling Digital Cloud”. The event brought together senior government officials, regulators including the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as well as industry representatives from Google, Meta, Constl, Lightstorm, NEC, Ciena and Tata Communications. Discussions focused on strengthening India’s global connectivity and digital infrastructure backbone.

Congratulating BIF on expanding last year’s Subsea Conference into a broader convergent forum, A K Lahoti, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, underlined the strategic importance of resilient connectivity infrastructure in supporting India’s digital and economic objectives. He noted that subsea cables and digital cloud infrastructure are increasingly interdependent. Subsea cables carry the majority of global data traffic, and with India surpassing one billion broadband subscribers, demand for low-latency, hyperscale cloud services continues to rise. With 268 Tbps of activated capacity and projected 7.4 per cent growth in subsea infrastructure, he said India is strengthening the foundations of a sustainable and globally connected digital economy.

This focus aligns with the Government’s wider infrastructure agenda, including the INR 12.21 lakh crore allocation in the Union Budget 2026–27 and policy measures aimed at strengthening the digital ecosystem. The Budget also introduced long-term tax incentives for global cloud providers operating through India-based infrastructure, with the objective of encouraging further investment in digital and AI infrastructure.

Rudra Narayan Palai, Member (Technology), Department of Telecommunications, highlighted the role of submarine cables in supporting AI-driven data centres. He stated that modern AI data centres depend on high-capacity, low-latency international connectivity, which submarine cable systems provide. Without such networks, the delivery of AI-enabled services, cloud platforms and real-time applications would be constrained. He added that India’s membership of the International Cable Protection Committee reflects its commitment to resilient subsea infrastructure, and noted that Cable Landing Stations have been accorded the status of “Critical Telecom Infrastructure”.

The conference examined the growing convergence between international connectivity infrastructure and domestic digital capacity, highlighting the need for coordinated policy support and industry participation to build a resilient digital backbone. Participants emphasised that subsea connectivity and cloud infrastructure are increasingly interlinked components of India’s digital growth strategy.

In his closing remarks at the inaugural session,TV Ramachandran, President of BIF, said the conference reflected the strategic significance of undersea and cloud-based infrastructure in shaping global commerce and digital interactions. He observed that as data becomes central to economic activity, regulatory clarity and resilient design will be critical to ensuring that India can play a leading role in the evolving digital architecture.

Aruna Sundararajan, Chairperson of BIF, stated that the convergence of subsea connectivity and digital cloud infrastructure marks a new phase in India’s digital development, where such backbone assets are increasingly viewed as strategic national infrastructure. She highlighted the importance of route diversity, expanded capacity and indigenous maintenance capabilities to enhance resilience and support long-term investment.

India’s expanding digital economy is also driving growth in data centre infrastructure. The Government has articulated its intention to position the country as a global hub for cloud and AI infrastructure, with the sector expected to attract sustained long-term investment. As data centre capacity scales to support AI workloads, financial systems and digital services, resilient and geographically diversified subsea connectivity will remain essential for seamless global data flows and next-generation applications.

The conference provided a platform for policymakers and industry representatives to align on strengthening infrastructure resilience, accelerating investment and developing supportive policy frameworks. Participants underlined the importance of coordinated action between government and industry to enhance connectivity resilience, streamline approvals and support long-term infrastructure development.

As India advances its digital transformation and AI adoption, continued investment in subsea connectivity and cloud infrastructure will be central to reinforcing the country’s digital backbone and supporting future economic growth.