High Level Dialogue: Strengthening the Resilience of Telecommunication Submarine Cables
ITU/Portugal/Nigeria
Session 476
Over 99% of global Internet traffic is carried by submarine telecommunications cables forming the critical backbone of international digital communications. As global dependency on digital services deepens across all sectors of the economy, these undersea infrastructures face mounting risks from accidental anchor damage and fishing activities, natural hazards, aging infrastructure, and growing geopolitical complexity.
This High-Level Dialogue builds on the sustained international momentum to strengthen submarine cable resilience. It follows the landmark High-Level Dialogue held during the WSIS+20 Forum 2025, and reflects the significant progress achieved through the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience (IAB) a multi-stakeholder initiative co-convened by ITU and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC). Since its inaugural Global Summit in Abuja in 2024, the IAB's three Working Groups on Timely Deployment & Repair, Risk Identification, Monitoring & Mitigation, and Fostering Connectivity & Geographic Diversity have developed concrete, actionable recommendations, approved at the Porto Summit in February 2026.
This session will present and discuss the final outcomes of the IAB, including the consolidated findings of its three Working Groups, and reflect on the way forward for international cooperation on submarine cable resilience. It will bring together ministers, regulators, industry leaders, and technical experts to advance collaborative global action on infrastructure protection, deployment, repair, and risk mitigation.
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C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
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C2. Information and communication infrastructure
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C6. Enabling environment
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C11. International and regional cooperation
This session directly advances WSIS Action Line C2 (Information and communication infrastructure) by addressing the resilience of submarine telecommunications cables, the physical backbone carrying over 99% of global Internet traffic. It supports C6 (Enabling environment) through discussions on the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks needed to govern and protect cable infrastructure, and C11 (International and regional cooperation) by presenting the outcomes of the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience (IAB), a landmark multilateral initiative co-convened by ITU and ICPC. It further reflects C1 by engaging governments, industry, and international organizations in a shared multi-stakeholder response, and C5 by addressing the security and reliability of the digital communications infrastructure upon which all ICT applications depend.
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Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
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Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
This session contributes directly to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by advancing the resilience and reliability of submarine telecommunications cables, the critical global infrastructure underpinning digital economies worldwide. It supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience (IAB), a multilateral multi-stakeholder initiative co-convened by ITU and ICPC that exemplifies the kind of global partnership needed to address shared infrastructure challenges. The session advances SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by addressing geographic diversity in connectivity and ensuring that developing nations particularly in Africa, Small Island Developing States, and landlocked countries are not disproportionately exposed to the consequences of cable disruptions.
- Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals