Philippines-Singapore subsea cable cut disrupts internet across region

A subsea cable cut between the Philippines and Singapore reduced internet capacity on Oct. 2, 2026, and the effects continued into the next day. Converge, PADECO and the UP Diliman Network Help Desk reported that the Philippines-Singapore segment was down, and the Philippines-Hong Kong segment was also damaged. The DICT said it was still determining the cause, and Secretary Henry Aguda listed sabotage, a natural fiber cut, and equipment failure as possibilities.

Earlier, on Aug. 12, 2026, Keppel received a facilities-based operator licence from Singapore's IMDA for the planned Kruger Cable System. Computer Weekly reported that the system would run west from Singapore to the Middle East, with stops in Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and Salalah, Oman, plus branches serving South Asia. Keppel said the licence allows it to move toward a final investment decision, expected by the end of 2026.

By late August 2026, four submarine cables serving Vietnam were impaired, according to Submarine Networks. SJC2 and AAE-1 broke on Aug. 25, AAG had an unresolved fault from before that date, and TGN-IA failed in late August. The publication estimated that about 30 percent of Vietnam's aggregate international bandwidth was lost during major multi-cable incidents, though the actual loss could be higher.

A cut on a major cable removes capacity but does not disconnect users. Traffic is shifted to other cables, and the remaining capacity can become congested, especially during evening peak hours when people access overseas content. Submarine Networks said in its Vietnam analysis that domestic traffic continues at full speed, while international traffic may suffer latency spikes and packet loss. In the Philippines, GIZGUIDE likewise advised that users should expect higher ping and latency for online gaming, video calls and cloud services, while local websites and government portals would remain stable.

On the evening of Oct. 2, PLDT issued an advisory at 9:30 p.m. saying a cut on the Philippines-Singapore route had affected its services nationwide and that it had rerouted most of the affected traffic. Globe said it began rerouting traffic on Thursday night through redundant international links and expected repairs to take several weeks. Converge said it moved internet and data traffic to other submarine cable systems.

Terrestrial backup routes are not always easy to use. In its Vietnam report, Submarine Networks said Chinese operators face regulatory restrictions that prevent them from leasing cross-border dark fiber or fiber pairs, and physical transport circuits are costly to keep on standby. Submarine Networks added that backup subsea paths also become congested during peak hours.

GMA News Online reported on Oct. 2 that the DICT was monitoring the situation and had received no reports of critical infrastructure being significantly affected. Newsbytes reported on Oct. 3 that Globe said its primary IT systems remained operational and that a separate Android login issue had already been resolved, and PLDT said it expected service to normalize shortly.