Not just one but two undersea links are cut and totally out of service. 60% of Indian home and business are experiencing disruption. My home 8Mbps ADSL connection only working at 512K speed :( It could take up to one week to repair the damaged cables and resume full service. The cause of the damage (SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG cables in the Mediterranean Sea) has not been declared, but a number of news sources speculate that the damage was caused by a ship's anchor near Alexandria. However, my works place has no effect as traffic immediately routed using Atlantic ocean cable / gateway (hell we have 5 level redundancy and multiple ISPs).
Operations outsourced to India from the UK and US are badly hit and my friends working with those organizations are totally stressed out. Many of my friends worked all night to restore service for home users. I feel sorry for them. I consider my self lucky for not working with any ISP teach support department.
[ Fig:01 Cuts in two international submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea (image credit, TOI) ]
Update: A third submarine internet cable is severed in the Middle East, compounding global net problems.
News Coverage
- DD News Cable breakdown in the Mediterranean sea affects internet
- BCC News: Severed cables disrupt internet
- SEA-ME-WE 4 link site and FLAG (Reliance group company) telecom website
Have you been affected by the disruption to internet services?
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I can say that IBM Clients which have services provided from India (and CZ Republic) are not affected by this event. No severity 1/2 tickets. Just an ordinary working day :).
Damn slow internet in Pune …. :(
It is slow as hell in bangalore
Btw, SEA-ME-WE 3 is backup link for SEA-ME-WE 4 and both are cut.. too bad
Wow, two backup cables cut at the same time?
These cables were cut on purpose either by US or UK government.
Check out:
Wednesday 30th January 2008 15:27 GMT – The head of the UK government’s secret electronic spying and codebreaking agency, GCHQ, has said that his organisation’s ability to intercept conversations and messages is seriously undermined by internet-protocol (IP) communications. The digital spook’s comments may come as a blow to British and European politicians who have sworn to eradicate terrorism from the internet.
Wednesday 30th January 2008 – A submarine cable in the Mediterranean was cut earlier today, resulting in a dramatic slowdown in internet access for people in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and much of the Middle East.
There you have my proof…
Also check out what FLAG has to say .. it is not conspiracy theory