Microscan plans to invest around Rs 350 crore to build a new subsea cable landing station in Alibaug, around 95 km from Mumbai, as demand for international connectivity rises from cloud, AI, data centres and digital services. The proposed facility will target hyperscalers, telecom carriers and submarine cable owners while providing an alternative landing point to Mumbai’s heavily concentrated cable infrastructure.
Microscan Plans Rs 350 Crore Cable Landing Station
Mumbai-based fibre and connectivity provider Microscan plans to invest approximately Rs 350 crore in the proposed Alibaug subsea cable landing station, according to an Economic Times report published on October 7.
The company is targeting hyperscalers, telecom carriers and cable owners as potential customers for the facility. Microscan founder and managing director Sandeep Donde told ET that the company is in discussions with Henox IT and Data Centers, Singapore-based Datawave and a London-based global subsea telecom operator about landing their cables at the proposed site.
The project would give international submarine cable operators another landing option outside Mumbai’s existing concentration of cable infrastructure.
Why Alibaug Matters for Mumbai’s Internet Infrastructure
Mumbai is one of India’s most important international connectivity hubs, but much of its submarine cable infrastructure is concentrated around a relatively small geographic area.
According to ET, 15 of 17 international cables are currently landed at Versova along a stretch of around six kilometres. Such concentration can create infrastructure resilience concerns because physical damage or a major failure affecting a concentrated landing area could potentially disrupt multiple cable systems at the same time.
An Alibaug landing station would provide geographic diversification on the Maharashtra coast. Instead of relying predominantly on existing Mumbai landing points, international traffic could enter through another coastal location and then move through terrestrial fibre networks towards data centres and other connectivity hubs.
The idea is therefore not simply to add another cable landing station. It is also about creating an alternative route into one of India’s largest digital and financial markets.
Microscan Wants to Connect Hyperscalers and Data Centres
The proposed station is intended to connect with Microscan’s underground fibre network around Mumbai.
The company says its existing network links more than 45 data centres, exchanges and financial markets in and around the Mumbai region. That terrestrial network could provide the backhaul needed to move international traffic from the new coastal landing point towards major data and business locations.
This is particularly relevant as hyperscalers and cloud providers expand their infrastructure in India. AI workloads are also increasing demand for high-capacity connectivity between data centres, cloud platforms and international networks.
For a cable operator, the value of a landing station is therefore determined not only by where the submarine cable reaches India’s coast, but also by how efficiently that traffic can reach data centres, exchanges, enterprises and other networks.
India Is Diversifying Its Submarine Cable Landing Points
Microscan’s proposal comes as India’s submarine cable infrastructure is becoming more geographically distributed.
Government data presented in Parliament in March 2026 showed several cable systems under commissioning or planning. Reliance Jio’s India Europe Xpress was listed with a Mumbai landing point and under commissioning, while Airtel’s SEA-ME-WE-6 and 2Africa systems also had Mumbai landing points. Sify’s Raman Cable was similarly listed under commissioning in Mumbai.
The same government data showed planned systems at locations including Chennai and Raigad. Reliance Jio’s Indian Ocean Cable was listed as under planning with Raigad in Maharashtra as its proposed cable landing location.
This indicates a broader shift towards multiple landing locations rather than relying heavily on a single coastal cluster.
Subsea Cables Carry India’s International Data Traffic
Submarine cables are the physical backbone connecting India’s networks to international internet and cloud infrastructure.
A cable landing station provides the interface between an undersea cable and terrestrial networks. Once international traffic reaches the landing station, terrestrial fibre carries it towards data centres, internet exchanges, telecom networks and enterprise customers.
This makes cable landing stations strategically important for cloud computing, content delivery, financial services, enterprise connectivity and increasingly AI infrastructure.
TRAI has previously examined India’s submarine cable landing framework, including issues around licensing, access to landing-station facilities and competition in international connectivity.
AI and Cloud Are Increasing the Need for More Capacity
India’s rapid expansion of data centres is changing the requirements for international connectivity.
Cloud platforms need high-capacity links to international networks, while AI services can generate significant data flows between computing infrastructure, cloud platforms and users. Financial markets and other latency-sensitive businesses also require reliable international connectivity.
That makes additional cable landing capacity increasingly important.
The Alibaug project could therefore become part of a broader infrastructure layer supporting India’s data-centre and cloud ecosystem rather than serving only traditional telecom traffic.
The Bigger Issue Is Network Resilience
The most important aspect of the project may be resilience.
Concentrating multiple international cables within a limited coastal area can increase the consequences of a localised physical incident. Diversifying landing points gives cable operators and network providers additional routing options, although the overall resilience still depends on terrestrial backhaul, interconnection and redundancy across the wider network.
Microscan’s proposed Alibaug facility would create another entry point for international connectivity in Maharashtra and could reduce dependence on existing Mumbai landing locations.
The company is therefore positioning the project around both capacity and infrastructure diversification.
What Comes Next for the Alibaug Project
Microscan’s announcement is an investment plan rather than evidence that the new station is already operational.
The company is still working with prospective cable owners and operators on bringing systems to the proposed facility. The eventual scale and international connectivity available through Alibaug will depend on which submarine cable systems are ultimately landed there and when those systems become operational.
If Microscan secures multiple cable systems, the facility could become an important alternative gateway for Mumbai’s cloud, data-centre, telecom and financial-services ecosystem.
For India, the larger trend is clear: as international data demand grows, submarine cable infrastructure is becoming as strategically important to the digital economy as terrestrial fibre and data centres. The Alibaug project is another sign that India’s next connectivity expansion is taking place both on land and under the sea.
