NYT article on the cut cables

NYT has an article on the borken internet cables off the coast of Egypt:

Telecommunications operators have been trying to diversify the routes used for transmissions, said Alan Mauldin, research director with TeleGeography Research, particularly since an earthquake in Taiwan in 2006 disrupted service in Asia.

The cable network contains “choke points” — like those off the coast of Egypt and Singapore where many cables run, Mr. Mauldin said.

I... uh... guess the seas here are safer? :D

Elsewhere: the Internet is borken too

This is not a local event, but read the news yesterday at CNA.

Internet outage hits business from Cairo to Colombo
Posted: 31 January 2008 2208 hrs

CAIRO: Damage to undersea Internet cables hit business across the Middle East and South Asia on Thursday, including the vital call centre industry, prompting calls for people to limit their surfing.

Around 70 per cent of Internet users in Egypt have been affected since two submarine cables in the Mediterranean Sea were damaged on Wednesday, also rupturing connections thousands of kilometres (miles) away.

...

India's Internet-dependent outsourcing industry was also severely disrupted, with businesses saying it may take up to 15 days to return to normal.

There is another article here by Business Week:

Damage to the Flag Europe-Asia and the SeaMeWe-4 cables have left only the older SeaMeWe-3 system to provide service between Europe and the Middle East, research firm TeleGeography said.

The two cables, with 620 Gbps in capacity, are the prime direct links between Europe, the Middle East and south Asia.

This looks very serious and the cause is yet unknown. Imagine all the businesses relying on that 2 cables losing all access to free/cheap overseas calls, internet (email, websites, ecommerce, etc)!

I wonder what is causing the disruption. Underwater volcano eruptions due to continental movement or... playful whales? :P