A New Middle East: Israel as a Digital "Silk Road"
Israel is becoming a key node on the global digital map, connecting Europe and Asia through an optical cable network. How is the AI revolution changing infrastructure requirements, and why is Bezeq planning to become a global player in this field? We discussed the future of network technologies with Tomer Raved, chairman of the Bezeq group.
Have you ever thought about how the internet works? We know it is a global network of computers, but we rarely think about the physical side of it. The internet has become a "natural infrastructure" that we take for granted—like electricity or sewage—until it stops working.
The internet functions thanks to a complex network of optical cables with a capacity of hundreds of terabits per second, laid on the ocean floor and across land. While Israel was once connected to the world via a single Med-1 cable, today the country is linked to Europe by three main redundant lines. Furthermore, Israel is connected to the East via land cables passing through Jordan to the UAE and onward to Asian countries.
Israel's Role in the AI Era
Israel's current traffic needs amount to only a few dozen terabits per second, which is easily covered by existing capacities. However, the situation is becoming more complex with the arrival of the AI revolution and the need to connect data centers of tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, located in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, to Europe and the USA. This is where Bezeq is emerging as a global player. I sat down with Tomer Raved, chairman of the Bezeq group (which includes Pelephone, Bezeq International, and Yes), to discuss the geopolitical importance of these cables.
"Everything we call high-tech, the business sector, or the security sector—AI, server farms, banks—relies on this cable system," Raved notes. "There is no app or government service that doesn't run through international cables. Bezeq is the engine that supports the entire country and our high-tech locomotive."
The "Digital Suez Canal"
Today, internet traffic between Europe and Asia passes primarily through eight cables laid through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. This creates a bottleneck. "Due to the high density of cables in the Suez Canal, malfunctions caused by stuck ships are frequent. About 300 terabits per second serving the Middle East pass through this corridor," Raved explains. "Major companies, including Google, realized a decade ago that network resilience requires an alternative path. Geographically, given the difficult terrain of Turkey and the lack of infrastructure in Syria and Lebanon, Israel has become the only solution."
Israel is effectively becoming the "Silk Road" of the internet. The infrastructure allows data to be transmitted from the Gulf states through Jordan to the shores of the Mediterranean, and from there to Europe. This is a strategic development that changes the regional reality, making Israel a critical link for international traffic.
Satellites vs. Fiber Optics
When asked about competition from satellite systems like Elon Musk's Starlink, Raved is decisive: "There is no alternative to optical fiber and data transmission at the speed of light. Satellite solutions are limited and intended for remote areas with low population density. They will never replace cables in urban centers, where 85% of the world's population is concentrated, and they cannot meet business needs for gigabit speeds."
According to Raved, the demand for speed is growing: while five years ago a gigabit connection seemed excessive, today 95% of customers choose such plans. "Bezeq's infrastructure is ready not only for current needs but also for future loads of tens of petabits per second. We are investing in new cables connecting us to Italy to ensure reliability for our global clients—Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon," the chairman concludes.
