For the second time in twelve months much of the UAE and Egypt’s internet connection was lost on Friday last, according to France Telecom, with many reporting that performance levels have still not been fully restored.
The Middle East, Europe and America are connected by three cables, all of which have been cut, reducing internet capacity to 85 per cent, according to Etisalat, UAE’s telecom operator.
The cables, which run from Egypt to Italy and carry roughly 75 per cent of the region’s traffic, have back-ups running along side them to shoulder the burden in times of emergency and are in use at the moment, ensuring at least some connectivity is maintained.
While no official reports stating the cause of the current cable cuts (earlier in the year it was down to ships dragging their anchors), speculation is rife that it could have been a result of under-water earthquakes or landslides.
Ships have been sent to repair the damage and New Years’ Eve is the day earmarked for completition of the works.
An etisalat spokesperson said:
‘The redundant cables linking the region to Europe and the US has allowed for the internet to remain operational, albeit at low speeds.’
UAE’s two telecom operators have re-routed a lot of traffic to minimise interruptions.
Are you from this region? Is your internet working?
22 December 2008 10:05