If most of the repeaters on a network go offline, it could create an internet blackout for those who rely on the internet coming from undersea cables.
The repercussions of a solar storm or coronal mass ejection are not entirely unknown. Experts have always cautioned that solar storms could damage electrical grids and potentially cause prolonged blackouts. And now they are of the opinion that it could also adversely affect the global internet infrastructure and GPS access.
New research reveals that the failures could be disastrous, particularly for the undersea cables, causing a global internet outage. The University of California, Irvine's Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi said this at the SIGCOMM 2021 data communication conference last week.
In her research, Abdu Jyothi also pointed out that local and regional internet infrastructure would be at low risk of damage during extreme solar storms as they mostly use fibre optic. The fibre optic is not affected by geomagnetically induced currents. Even short cable spans that are susceptible to these storms are grounded regularly, eliminating the possibility of damage.
1. Solar storm may adversely affect internet infrastructure
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New research has revealed that a solar storm or coronal mass ejection can adversely affect the internet infrastructure and GPS access and that these failures could be disastrous, particularly for the undersea cables, causing a global internet outage. The University of California, Irvine's Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi said this at the SIGCOMM 2021 data communication conference last week.
In her research, Abdu Jyothi also pointed out that local and regional internet infrastructure would be at low risk of damage during extreme solar storms as they mostly use fibre optic.
(Image Source: Reuters)
2. Undersea cables are risky during solar storms
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However, for the undersea cables that connect continents together, things are risky despite most of them being connected via fibre optic cables. The reason being that the repeaters that amplify the current at regular intervals are highly susceptible to failure and hence pose a risk during a solar storm.
(Image Source: Twitter@PIBMumbai)
3. Internet blackout can be caused when repeaters on a network go offline
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As per the research, if most of these repeaters on a network go offline, it could be enough to create an internet blackout for those who rely only on the internet coming from undersea cables. Abdu Jyothi points out that one of the main reasons for this fear is the limited amount of data at its disposal leading to no solid proof of anything.
(Image Source: Pixabay)
4. Solar storm of 1989 led to 9 hour power blackout in northeast Canada
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The previously recorded severe solar storms occurred long back in 1859, 1921 and the most recent one in 1989. The solar storm that occurred in 1989 took down a Hydro-Quebec power grid causing a nine-hour power blackout in northeast Canada. Abdu Jyothi feels we are underprepared to face any consequences if another solar storm strikes the Earth.
(Image Source: Nasa)
5. In global internet traffic reroutes if one pathway isn't available
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The global Internet is built such that if one pathway isn't available, traffic reroutes across other paths. This could potentially help keep connectivity up, even at reduced speeds, in the event of a solar storm. But the damage to these vital arteries could start to destabilise the network.
(Image Source: Pixabay)
