Third Cable Break Cripples Mideast Internet -

Third Cable Break Cripples Mideast Internet
February 04, 2008 | by Christopher Nickson

Even as the region struggles to repair two existing cable breaks, a third snaps, putting huge strain on Mid East telecoms.

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, for instance.

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 the BBC.

"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 Middle East 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.

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