Undersea cables cut again and India net got heavy traffic

Three major undersea cables — the Sea Me We 4, Sea Me We3, and FLAG — were cut again in Mediterranean Sea,causing massive Internet outages.

The three Internet cables were cut off the coast of Sicily on Friday morning. Throughout Egypt, the Internet is almost completely down or working sporadically.

Because of this ,considerably slowing down India’s internet and voice traffic. The extent of the damage is still being assessed.Sources said that India net got 65% traffic since friday

France Telecom said Enginners were sent for cables repairing but it will take “several days” for cables to be repaired and is trying to switch Egypt’s Internet to an alternative route.

Undersea cables were also damaged in January, causing outages in the Mideast and India.

Yemen and Sudan were also having phone and Internet difficulties Friday because of he cable cut.

Fibres cut in recent years:

- January 20, 2007 - Due to Taiwan Earthquake
- January 30, 2008 - in Mediterranean Region
- Now December 19, 2008 again in Mediterranean Region

“Being a Saturday, we may not feel the full impact of the cuts. Though there’s no doubt that traffic has slowed down to a snail’s pace. Moreover, given the global slowdown, most companies themselves are going slow, and hence the impact may be lower. However, what is surprising is the regularity with which these cuts have been happening,” said Rajesh Chharia President, Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), told Business Standard.

France Telecom said it immediately alerted one of the two maintenance boats based in the Mediterranean area, the “Raymond Croze”. In its initial assessment, the company listed 14 countries affected by the current problem. The Maldives are 100 per cent down, followed by India, which has 82 per cent disruption. Qatar, Djibouti and the UAE were the next most widely affected areas with about 70 per cent service interrupted. Disruptions for Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan range from 51 per cent to 55 per cent.

Impact on voice traffic:

- India: 82% out of service
- Saudi Arabia: 55% out of service
- Djibouti: 71% out of service
- Egypt: 52% out of service
- United Arab Emirates: 68% out of service
- Lebanon: 16% out of service
- Malaysia: 42% out of service
- Maldives: 100% out of service
- Pakistan: 51% out of service
- Qatar: 73% out of service
- Syria: 36% out of service
- Taiwan: 39% out of service
- Yemen: 38% out of service
- Zambia: 62% out of service