The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have partnered to form a new advisory group focused on protecting subsea cables.

The new body will bring together governments, industry leaders, and experts to develop a best practices framework for protecting subsea cables, speeding up repairs and deployment efforts, and reducing risks to existing cables.

As reported by Total Tele, the advisory group comprises 40 members, including government ministers. It will be co-chaired by Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and Sandra Maximiano, chair of Portugal’s National Communications Authority (ANACOM).

It is unclear what the advisory body has been named.

“The formation of this International Advisory Body with ITU marks another step toward safeguarding our global digital infrastructure,” said Graham Evans, ICPC chair.

“By working together, we can promote best practices, foster international collaboration, and create a consistent approach to protect the vital submarine cable networks that underpin global connectivity.”

The group is set to meet at least twice a year, with the first virtual meeting scheduled for next month. A physical meeting is set to follow in Nigeria at the Submarine Cable Resilience Summit in February.

The formation of the new body is timely, given recent cable cuts in the Baltic Sea. Last month, international investigators suspected a Chinese ship’s crew of deliberately dragging an anchor 111 miles along the sea bed to sever two subsea cables.