Bezeq Telecom Deploys Subsea Internet Cable Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. May 13, 2026 © Adobe Stock/Alifa Gallery Bezeq Israel Telecom has begun to deploy a fast-speed Internet  subsea  cable aimed at connecting Europe to Asia that its chairman says could ultimately reduce dependency on the Strait of Hormuz. Some 17% of global broadband goes through Hormuz, mostly from Qatar and India, and the new cable project would "solve some of the congestion that some of the Gulf countries currently have in the Strait of Hormuz," Tomer Raved, Bezeq's chairman, told Reuters after reporting quarterly financial results. Deployment of the more than 400-terabyte cables will take two years and Bezeq will soon announce a European partner in the 500 million shekel ($172 million) project, with two more  subsea  cables to be launched later this year, he said on Wednesday. "It positions Israel as the digital backbone, not just of the region, but globally, given the need for more connectivity in the region and between the different continents," Raved said. Iran has warned that submarine cables in the strait were a vulnerable point for the region's digital economy. Several fibre-optic cables snake across the strait's seabed, connecting countries from India and Southeast Asia to Europe via the Gulf states and Egypt. Raved said it was unlikely these cables would be damaged since they are owned by a consortium of countries and telecom companies in the region, including from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Still, "you always need to have redundancy and backup routes," he said. "The European continent needs to connect to Asia in general, and India specifically." Bezeq, Israel's largest telecoms group, said on Wednesday it earned adjusted net profit of 300 million shekels ($103.25 million) in the first quarter, up from 288 million a year earlier. Core revenue, which excludes fixed line telephony, rose 2.6% to 2.03 billion shekels. The company maintained a projection of adjuste