2 more weeks for undersea Internet cable repair

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 19:56

Your IT - Home IT

A China Daily report says underwater cable repairs after the undersea Taiwan earthquake could still take 2 weeks to complete.

If you’re in Asia and are still experiencing slower than normal speeds following the earthquake that damaged undersea communications cables, a China Daily report tells us that you might need to wait at least 2 weeks before normal service is restored.

The repairs were originally meant to be completed yesterday (15th of January, 2007), but delays have occurred due to difficult conditions both at sea and on the sea floor, as repair crews drag the seabed with old fashioned grappling hooks in an attempt to snag cables that lie 4000 meters below sea level.

These delays have caused millions of mainland Chinese and people in other Asian countries to struggle with slow speeds online.

According to a PR official at China Telecom, quoted at the China Daily story: “We are informed that because of the intricate undersea conditions and capricious weather, the whole work might take a few more days to complete. We are as anxious as most people, but the repair work is done by the other companies we commissioned.”

It’s important to remember that Internet access is still available in Asia, despite the slower speeds, showing how robust the Internet really is in times of crisis, although it also showcases the need to build as much backup redundancy as possible so future episodes of a similar nature have a smaller impact on the world’s Internet community.