Third Cable Break Cripples Mideast Internet

By Digital Trends Staff February 3, 2008

The two cable breaks last week put massive pressure on Internet and telecom communications in the Middle East and South East Asia. Could it get any worse? Apparently so. A third cable break, forinstance. And that’s exactly what happened. With repairs on the first breaks not due to begin until tomorrow, another one, known as the Falcon cable, has snapped, according to theBBC. "The situation is critical for us in terms of congestion," Omar Sultan, chief executive of Dubai’s ISP DU,told AP. It’s meant that communications have had to be rerouted around the globe, but the big problem has been Internet access. In areas of the MiddleEast there was a 70% disruption, while the first break caused a 60% disruption in India. The new break means there’s only one, older cable connecting the Middle East and Europe. It could be several more days before Middle Eastern Internet service is back to normal, although India was at 80% capacity by the end of last week.

Digital Trends Staff

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