Domestic Submarine Cable of Maldives (DSCoM)

Overview

The Domestic Submarine Cable of Maldives (DSCoM) is an intra-national submarine cable system operating entirely within the Maldives. Spanning 286 km, it connects eight island communities across the Maldivian archipelago, providing domestic connectivity between dispersed atolls and population centers.

Route and Landings

All eight landing points are located within the Maldives. The cable reaches Dhangethi, Dhuvaafaru, Eydhafushi, Hulhumale, Kudahuvadhoo, Maafushi, Maamigili, and Velidhoo. These landings span multiple atolls, linking island communities that are geographically separated by open ocean.

Ownership and Operators

DSCoM is jointly owned by Dhiraagu and Ooredoo Maldives, the two principal telecommunications operators in the country. Dhiraagu is the longstanding national carrier of the Maldives, while Ooredoo Maldives operates as part of the international Ooredoo Group. The co-ownership arrangement between the two operators is a notable feature of this domestic system.

Status and Timeline

DSCoM became ready for service in 2024, making it one of the more recently commissioned cable systems active in the Maldivian corridor. The cable has been operational for approximately two years.

Regional Context

The Maldives is served by a collection of submarine cables ranging from short domestic systems to long international routes. DSCoM, at 286 km, is the shortest among the cables identified in this corridor, which includes long-haul international systems such as PEACE Cable, SeaMeWe-6, FALCON, and India Asia Xpress (IAX), as well as earlier domestic systems Dhiraagu Cable Network and the Nationwide Submarine Cable Ooredoo Maldives (NaSCOM). While those regional peers extend from hundreds to tens of thousands of kilometers, DSCoM is focused solely on inter-island connectivity within the archipelago. Across the Maldivian cable environment, ten submarine cables land at seventeen landing points, reflecting a broader infrastructure built to serve a nation of widely scattered atolls.

Strategic Role

DSCoM addresses the specific connectivity challenges of an island nation where communities are separated by stretches of sea rather than continuous land. By connecting eight Maldivian island landings under a single domestic cable system co-owned by the country's two main operators, DSCoM extends fiber-based connectivity to communities across multiple atolls. Its 286 km footprint, while modest in global terms, covers a geographically complex domestic route where overland alternatives do not exist.