As the UK Government proposes stronger protections for critical undersea infrastructure, the question of how businesses maintain connectivity during major disruption is becoming increasingly important. Could satellite broadband provide an alternative, and what else needs to be considered?
The infrastructure keeping the UK connected
On 22 October 2026, the UK Government published a white paper outlining proposals to strengthen the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure.
According to the report, approximately 99% of the UK's international data traffic travels through subsea telecommunications cables.
These cables form a fundamental part of the infrastructure supporting internet access, cloud services, financial transactions, business communications and countless other digital activities.
The UK currently has 64 active subsea telecommunications cable systems, including 45 connecting the country internationally and 19 providing domestic connections.
The network is designed to be resilient. When individual cables experience faults, data can often be redirected through alternative routes without customers noticing any interruption.
However, the government warns that the risks facing this infrastructure are evolving.
Alongside accidental damage from fishing equipment and ship anchors, subsea infrastructure faces potential threats from deliberate sabotage, cyberattacks and other forms of hostile interference.
The white paper proposes stronger criminal penalties, new security obligations for infrastructure operators and additional government powers to respond to serious national security threats.
While these remain proposals under consultation, they highlight the growing importance of protecting the systems on which modern communications depend.
What would happen if undersea connectivity were disrupted?
The impact would depend on the nature, scale and location of the incident.
A single damaged cable would not necessarily cause widespread disruption. International telecommunications networks have multiple routes, and traffic can often be redirected when an individual connection becomes unavailable.
A more extensive or coordinated incident, however, could present a greater challenge.
Disruption affecting multiple cables, landing stations or supporting network infrastructure could reduce available capacity, increase congestion or interrupt access to services.
For businesses, the consequences could extend beyond losing access to websites or email.
Many organisations rely on continuous connectivity for:
- Cloud-based business applications and data storage
- Payment processing and financial transactions
- Remote monitoring, CCTV and security systems
- Communications between offices, sites and operational teams
- Logistics, transport and supply-chain management
- Industrial equipment and connected infrastructure
The level of disruption would vary considerably between organisations, depending on their network architecture, service providers and the systems they depend on.
This raises an important question: if terrestrial communications infrastructure is disrupted, could satellite broadband provide another way to stay connected?
Could satellite broadband provide an alternative?
Satellite broadband operates differently from traditional fixed-line connections.
Rather than relying on a physical cable between a customer site and the wider telecommunications network, satellite services use radio links between ground-based equipment and satellites in orbit.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks, including Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Amazon Leo, can provide broadband connectivity in locations where conventional fixed infrastructure is unavailable, impractical or disrupted.
For businesses, this creates an opportunity to introduce an alternative access route that does not depend on the same local physical infrastructure as a fixed-line connection.
For example, an organisation experiencing a local fibre outage may be able to continue accessing essential online services through an operational satellite connection.
The UK Government's white paper specifically acknowledges that satellite systems can provide some resilience during certain disruptions to subsea connectivity.
However, it also makes an important distinction: satellite systems cannot replicate the enormous capacity carried by subsea cable networks.
Satellite broadband should therefore be considered an additional layer of resilience, rather than a direct replacement for the infrastructure supporting international communications.
Would Starlink still work during a major cyberattack?
There is no universal answer.
If an attack primarily affected terrestrial access networks, a separately operated satellite service could provide an alternative connection, provided its own infrastructure remained operational.
However, satellite networks are not completely independent of terrestrial systems.
They rely on supporting infrastructure that may include ground stations, internet gateways, terrestrial backhaul, network management systems and electrical power.
Depending on the network architecture and destination of the traffic, satellite communications may still rely on terrestrial or subsea infrastructure beyond the satellite link.
Satellite services can also face their own threats, including cyberattacks, electronic interference, equipment failures and service outages.
Consequently, no satellite provider can be assumed to remain operational under every possible cyberattack or national infrastructure disruption scenario.
The important consideration is not simply whether a connection uses satellites or cables, but whether the overall solution reduces dependence on the same potential points of failure.
Connectivity is only one part of business resilience
Even where an alternative internet connection is available, that does not necessarily mean an organisation can continue operating.
A successful business continuity strategy must consider the other systems and resources required to keep critical services running.
1. Backup power and generators
An internet connection is of little use if the equipment required to operate it has no power.
Satellite terminals, routers, network switches, Wi-Fi access points and connected devices all require electricity.
Where connectivity must remain available during a power outage, organisations may need an independent power source.
Depending on the location and operational requirements, this could include an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a suitably rated generator, battery storage or a combination of technologies.
A UPS can help bridge short interruptions or provide time for a generator to start. Generators and larger battery systems may support longer periods of operation, provided they are appropriately sized and maintained.
Businesses should consider:
- How much power their critical equipment requires
- How long systems need to remain operational without mains electricity
- Whether backup power supports the entire connectivity chain, not just the satellite terminal
- Generator fuel availability, safe installation and maintenance requirements
- Whether backup systems are regularly tested under realistic conditions
For longer outages, generator refuelling, battery capacity and equipment maintenance may become just as important as the availability of the communications network.
2. Network equipment and automatic failover
Having a backup internet connection does not automatically mean a business can switch to it without interruption.
The network must be configured to recognise when the primary connection becomes unavailable and redirect traffic through the alternative service.
This may involve multi-WAN routers, SD-WAN technology or other network management solutions.
Automatic failover can reduce the need for manual intervention, helping critical applications remain accessible when the primary connection fails.
However, failover performance depends on the configuration and the applications being used. Some active sessions may still be interrupted during the transition.
Regular testing is therefore essential to establish whether the backup connection performs as expected.
3. The systems behind the connection
Maintaining internet access is not the same as maintaining access to every business application.
An organisation may have a functioning satellite connection but still be unable to access a service if the application provider, cloud platform, authentication system or data centre is experiencing an outage.
This is particularly relevant during widespread cyber incidents, where disruption may affect several interconnected services.
Businesses should identify which applications are essential to their operations and whether those systems have their own resilience arrangements.
Where appropriate, this could include alternative hosting arrangements, offline operating procedures, local data access or independent communications methods.
4. Physical equipment and installation
Satellite connectivity also depends on equipment being correctly installed and operational.
Terminals generally require a suitable, unobstructed view of the sky, and performance can be affected by environmental conditions, physical damage or interference.
For organisations relying on satellite broadband as a backup, equipment should ideally be installed, configured and tested before an incident occurs.
A terminal stored in a cupboard may be useful for planned emergency deployment, but it is not equivalent to an active backup connection capable of taking over automatically.
The appropriate approach depends on how quickly the organisation needs to restore connectivity.
5. Network security and monitoring
An alternative internet connection should not create additional security vulnerabilities.
Businesses must consider how their security policies, VPNs, firewalls, access controls and monitoring systems will operate when traffic moves between connections.
They should also establish how they will detect failures, receive alerts and manage the network during an incident.
This becomes particularly important when connectivity is supporting remote infrastructure, critical operations or systems containing sensitive information.
Why diversity matters
One of the most important lessons from the government's white paper is that resilience cannot depend on a single piece of infrastructure.
The same principle applies at an organisational level.
A business with two fixed-line connections may appear to have redundancy, but those connections could still share physical routes, network infrastructure or upstream providers.
Similarly, a satellite connection may provide a different access technology without guaranteeing complete independence from terrestrial infrastructure.
A more resilient approach involves understanding where dependencies exist and designing connectivity around the risks that matter most.
For some organisations, this could mean combining fixed-line broadband with satellite connectivity.
For others, it may involve multiple satellite services, additional networking technology, backup power and alternative operational procedures.
The objective is not necessarily to eliminate every possible risk, which may be impractical, but to reduce avoidable single points of failure and improve the ability to recover when disruption occurs.
Preparing for disruption before it happens
The UK Government's proposals reflect a broader recognition that communications infrastructure is essential to economic activity and national security.
While much of the responsibility for protecting critical infrastructure sits with governments and network operators, individual businesses also have a role to play in preparing for potential disruption.
Understanding which systems are essential, how connectivity is delivered and what happens when a connection becomes unavailable is an important starting point.
Satellite broadband can form part of that preparation, particularly where organisations require an alternative to traditional terrestrial access.
But the technology alone is not a complete business continuity solution.
Power availability, network configuration, application dependencies, physical equipment and operational procedures all influence whether an organisation can continue functioning during an incident.
Ultimately, connectivity resilience is not just about having a backup connection. It is about ensuring that the systems a business depends on can continue working when something goes wrong.
At Brdy Telecom, we help organisations assess their connectivity requirements and deploy satellite solutions alongside supporting network technologies, including managed failover and network resilience capabilities.
Whether supporting remote operations, critical infrastructure or business continuity planning, the aim is to provide connectivity solutions designed around the practical requirements of each organisation.
To discuss how satellite connectivity could support your organisation's resilience strategy, contact the Brdy Telecom team.
References
- UK Government (22 October 2026). Critical Undersea Infrastructure Security and Resilience: Proposals for modernising the UK's legislation. Primary source for UK subsea cable statistics, identified threats, legislative proposals and the limitations of satellite alternatives.
- UK Government (22 October 2026). Subsea cable saboteurs face jail and unlimited fines under new security crackdown. Government announcement accompanying the white paper.
- UK Government (2025). National Security Strategy 2025: Security for the British People in a Dangerous World. Wider context on threats to UK critical national infrastructure.
- UK National Cyber Security Centre. NCSC guidance and resources. Supporting guidance on cyber resilience, incident preparation and business continuity.
Technical considerations relating to UPS systems, generators, failover, satellite installations and application dependencies are general business continuity and network engineering guidance, rather than specific findings of the UK Government's white paper.