Internet Access in Yemen: Overview and Key Aspects
Yemen’s internet infrastructure is limited and highly centralized. The backbone relies on a few aging international connections and an outdated domestic network. A single subsea cable – the FALCON/FLAG system landing at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah – carries most of Yemen’s bandwidth ukraine.wilsoncenter.org washingtoninstitute.org. In fact, almost all connectivity comes through this one aging cable, with only a narrow backup link via Djibouti and some expensive satellite links washingtoninstitute.org. During the civil war, land fiber links to Saudi Arabia were destroyed, leaving the country largely dependent on undersea cables washingtoninstitute.org. Internal infrastructure consists of microwave relays and limited fiber, with fixed-line broadband largely delivered via old DSL over copper telephone lines smex.org. This network has not seen significant upgrades during the conflict, resulting in very low bandwidth and reliability smex.org. Major service providers in Yemen include: