When the Internet Breaks, Your Business Pays the Price

Think about how many times your business has been held hostage by a slow connection. A video call with a supplier in Penang stutters. Your cloud accounting software takes forever to load. You can’t send that large file to your client in Singapore. Usually, you blame your office Wi-Fi or your telco. But the real problem might be thousands of kilometres away, sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

Most of the data your business sends globally travels through undersea fibre optic cables. These cables are tricky to access and repair. When a cable snaps, whole regions experience slowdowns or outages. And with the rise of AI, cloud computing, and remote work, the amount of data moving across these cables keeps growing. That means more pressure on an already stretched system.

But what if we moved that data through space instead? Not with radio signals, but with lasers. That’s the bet a new startup called Endeavor Optical Networks (EON) is making. And it’s a development worth understanding, even if you never plan to launch a satellite.

TL;DR

• Undersea fibre cables are becoming a bottleneck for global data transfer, especially with AI and cloud growth.
• A startup called EON plans to use laser-equipped satellites to transmit data between continents at speeds comparable to fibre.
• For Malaysian SMEs, this means potential for more reliable, lower-latency international connections and new options for backup connectivity.

What This Means

EON wants to build a network of about 20 satellites, each able to provide a dedicated link between two continents. Their goal: move data at 2.4 terabits per second. For context, the fastest undersea fibre cables operate at 200 terabits a second or more. So they’re not aiming to replace fibre entirely—just to offer a viable, fast alternative on routes where fibre is expensive, slow, or politically complicated.

Using lasers in space isn’t new. NASA has used laser comms to beam data back from the Moon. Private companies like York, Kepler, and Cailabs have demonstrated ground-to-orbit laser links, but at just 2.5 Gbps—far too slow for data centre needs. EON’s bigger ambition is to hit 2.4 Tbps, which requires solving the problem of atmospheric distortion and cloud cover.

The company plans to launch a demo satellite by the end of 2027, with a full fleet later. They’re not the only ones chasing this. Blue Origin has announced TeraWave, a 5,048 satellite network promising speeds up to 6 Tbps. But EON’s smaller fleet means they could get to market faster.

“We have one rule at the company: no physics problems. There’s a market that exists today that we can go serve. Down the road, we’ll go and take on more as it comes, but we know that this is a problem that exists today, that’s only getting worse.” — Charlie Horowitz, CEO of EON

How This Applies to Malaysian SMEs

You might think space lasers have nothing to do with your SME. But think about your own digital infrastructure. Where is your data stored? Many Malaysian businesses host their websites, databases, and applications in Singapore, Hong Kong, or even the US. Every time your staff access these systems, your data travels through undersea cables that pass through the Malacca Strait and surrounding waters. Those paths are vulnerable to ship anchors, earthquakes, and simple wear and tear. If a cable breaks, your business could experience severe lag or even lose access to critical systems for hours or days.

Satellite laser links won’t replace the cables that connect Penang to Kuala Lumpur. But they could offer a game-changing alternative for international routes. For example, a Malaysian SME that trades with Australia or Europe might one day choose to route data through a laser satellite instead of congested undersea cables. This could mean faster data transfer for video conferencing, file sharing, and cloud-hosted applications that rely on real-time data. It also provides a backup option—if a cable fails, your traffic can go up to space and back down, keeping your business running.

Another practical angle: the rise of AI. If your SME uses AI tools for customer service, inventory planning, or marketing, you’re generating and consuming more data than ever before. The demand for data transit is exploding. Hyperscalers and AI labs are the first targets for EON, but the infrastructure they build will eventually benefit smaller businesses. When data superhighways become more robust and redundant, the cost and reliability of your cloud services will improve too.

There’s also a latency angle. For Malaysian SMEs doing business with partners in Africa or South America—routes with less existing fibre infrastructure—space lasers could eventually make communication as smooth as talking to someone in Johor Bahru. That opens up new markets and collaboration opportunities that currently feel out of reach due to technical limitations.

Practical Takeaways for Your Business

• Check your international dependency: Identify which of your business-critical tools rely on servers outside Malaysia. Your customer database, payment gateways, or cloud storage all count.
• Ask your provider about redundant routing: Some enterprise internet packages already route traffic through multiple cables. Ask whether they have a backup path for major routes to Singapore or the US.
• Plan for outages: Create a simple runbook for what you’ll do if your main internet connection becomes unusable for a day. Have a mobile hotspot or a backup 4G/5G connection available.
• Watch this space: You don’t need to invest in satellite tech. But follow developments from companies like EON and Blue Origin. If they succeed, your cloud provider and telco will eventually buy capacity from them.
• Stay nimble: Don’t sign long-term contracts that lock you into a single data route, especially if you rely heavily on international connectivity.

The Bigger Picture

We tend to treat the internet as an invisible utility, like electricity flowing from a wall socket. But the physical infrastructure behind it—oceans full of cables, data centres full of servers—is just as fragile as any other machinery. In a region like Southeast Asia, where undersea cables are often the only option, that fragility is a real business risk.

Space-based laser communication won’t arrive tomorrow. EON’s first demo satellite is targeted for late 2027, and full deployment will take longer. But the fact that serious investors like General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz are backing this idea signals that the demand for reliable data transmission is real and growing.

For your SME, the longer-term implication is this: your digital resilience will improve even if you never see a satellite. When more options exist for moving data across the globe, the companies that sell you connectivity will have to compete on reliability and service, not just price. You’ll have more choices. Your business will be less likely to suffer from a cable cut on the other side of the world.

Think of it as insurance. You may never need the backup route, but you’ll sleep better knowing it’s there. And the next time you hear about a company planning to “beam data down from space,” you’ll know it’s not science fiction. It’s just another way to keep your business moving.

Capability	Traditional Undersea Fibre	EON’s Proposed Space Laser
Top speed	200+ Tbps	2.4 Tbps initially
Deployment time	Years (cable laying + permits)	Demo by late 2027
Vulnerability	Ship anchors, earthquakes, maintenance	Atmospheric distortion, clouds
Coverage	Along cable routes	Between chosen ground stations
Best for	High-volume, low-cost bulk data	Underserved or expensive routes

Bottom Line

Undersea cables aren’t going away. But the idea of a data superhighway in the sky is closer than you think. For Malaysian SMEs, the lesson is simple: don’t put all your digital eggs in one cable. Pay attention to how your data moves, ask the right questions of your vendors, and be ready to adapt. The future may run on lasers, but your business needs reliability today.

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