Severed Subsea Cables Disrupt Internet Access Around Europe/Middle East

by Bradley Wint on December 21st, 2008 at 4:38 pm EDT - 158 views

For many Internet users in the European, Asian and Middle Eastern regions, browsing the web has become a nightmare after several connection failures. Apparently, 3 of 4 subsea fibre optic backbone communication cables have been severed, causing major cellular and Internet blackouts in these regions.

France Telecom reported that the  FLAG FEA, SMW4, and SMW3 cables in Egypt were severed, but the reason is still yet to be determined. Normally one of these cables are destroyed on a yearly basis by ships or seismic activity, but having 3 destroyed at around the same time is a cause for concern. The 4 cables in this region serve communication links between Europe and Middle East countries, as well as Asia. The telecoms firm will be sending ships to repair the fibre optic lines, but they don’t expect full service to be restored until December 31st.

The blackouts have severely disrupted business activity, especially on the Stock Exchange. Statistics also show that 65% of India’s networks are down, with other Middle Eastern countries feeling a lot of the brunt. For many of you out there, if you have been having problems accessing certain eastern based websites, don’t expect to see any recovery until the end of the year.

Source: BBC News