Damage to three major undersea cables located in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia seriously disrupted more than half of internet and phone services between Europe, the Middle East and Asia on Friday, with India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates the worst affected.
France Telecom said initial estimates show 82 percent of service to India was disrupted, while 73 percent of service to Qatar and 68 percent to the UAE was affected. Around 50 percent of service to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt was also disrupted.
The causes of the cut remain unclear. A ship set off in the early hours of Saturday morning to fix the lines, but it could take until Dec. 31 for normal service to be restored.
The cables are jointly owned by several dozen different countries. One of the cables is 40,000 km long and links 33 different countries while a second is 20,000 km long and serves 14 states.
In January of this year, similar damages to five cables in the Mediterranean, north of Alexandria Egypt, and in the Arabian Gulf, caused major disruptions to internet and communication services around the Middle East and Asia.
No wonder my download speeds are so low today! I was considering changing my service provider!!
No wonder my download speeds are so low today! I was considering changing my service provider!!