Google, Meta Delay Red Sea Cables as Security Risks Rattle Plans

Multiple subsea internet cables slated to run through the Red Sea are yet to complete as planned, as political tensions and heightened security threats have made the route more dangerous and complicated for commercial vessels.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s 2020 plans for 2Africa, a 45,000-kilometer (28,000 mile) subsea cable system, included a map showing how it would loop around the African continent to deliver vital high-speed connectivity. As the company and its partners ready to declare the project complete, a significant portion running through the Red Sea remains unfinished five years on.

The southern Red Sea segment of 2Africa hasn’t ...