Italy Earthquake Near Torretta-Scalzapecora Causes RTT Anomalies on Key Submarine Cables
What Happened
On July 31, 2026, at 20:46:44 local time in Italy, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 occurred. The epicenter was located 3 km northwest of Torretta-Scalzapecora. This event took place near key points of submarine cable infrastructure, necessitating an analysis of potential impacts on global internet traffic.
Cables in Zone
Within 500 km from the earthquake epicenter, several submarine cables are located, including:
- Italy-Albania (240 km, RFS 1997, owners: ALBtelecom, Sparkle) with an exit point in Bari, Italy (231.7 km from the epicenter).
- Jonah (2297 km, RFS 2012, Bezeq International Ltd.) also has an exit point in Bari.
- Trans Adriatic Express (TAE) (106 km, RFS 2023, EXA Infrastructure, TAP AG) with an exit point in San Foca, Italy (368.9 km from the epicenter).
- Unitirreno (1156 km, RFS 2025, Azimut, Unidata) with an exit point in Fiumicino, Italy (182.7 km from the epicenter).
- Other cables such as AAE-1, OTEGLOBE Kokkini-Bari, ROMSAR 2 and Piano Isole Minori are also within the potential impact zone.
What our measurements show
Rtt monitoring has identified anomalies on several cables:
- Italy-Albania: Rtt increased from 49.2 ms to 113.7 ms (+64.5 ms, 90.9σ from the baseline).
- Jonah: Rtt rose from 82.4 ms to 105.8 ms (+23.4 ms, 3.9σ).
- Trans Adriatic Express (TAE): Rtt increased from 59.5 ms to 111.4 ms (+51.9 ms, 13.2σ).
On other cables such as Unitirreno and AAE-1, significant changes in RTT have not been recorded, indicating their resilience to current conditions.
Context and Risks
However, due to the diversified cable network in the region, including such trunk lines as AAE-1 and Unitirreno, global internet traffic continues to function without significant disruptions.
Further Monitoring
We will continue to monitor RTT and other parameters on all cables in the affected area to promptly identify any potential changes. Special attention will be paid to cables Italy-Albania, Jonah, and TAE, where significant deviations from normal have already been recorded. We will also observe the condition of infrastructure at points near the epicenter such as Bari, San Foca, and Fiumicino.
