Kathianne
02-06-2008, 07:55 PM
Been reading about this for days, now it's up to 5 cut (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/February/theuae_February155.xml§ion=theuae). Iran totally lost connectivity (http://www.ilovebonnie.net/2008/02/06/apparently-ships-can-drag-anchors-from-egypt-to-malaysia/) which is weird. I can't say I'm surprised that the conspiracy folks are on this (http://www.ilovebonnie.net/2008/02/06/apparently-ships-can-drag-anchors-from-egypt-to-malaysia/).
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/04/technology/cables.php
Ruptures call safety of Internet cables into question
By Heather Timmons
Monday, February 4, 2008
NEW DELHI: Four undersea communication cables have been cut in the past week, raising questions about the safety of the oceanic network that handles the bulk of the world's Internet and telephone traffic.
Most telecommunications experts and cable operators say that sabotage seems unlikely, but no one knows what damaged the cables or whether the incidents were related.
One theory - that a wayward ship traveling off course because of bad weather was responsible for cutting the first two cables last week - was dismissed by the Egyptian government over the weekend.
No ships passed the area in the Mediterranean where the cables were located, the country's Ministry of Communications said Sunday.
"This has been an eye-opener for us, and everyone in the telecom industry worldwide," said Colonel R.S. Parihar, the secretary of the Internet Service Providers Association of India.
Today, the cause of the problem may have been an anchor, "but what if it is sabotage tomorrow?" Parihar asked.
"These are owned by private operators, and there are no governments or armies protecting these cables."
Most recently, a cable operated by Qatar's Q-Tel, which linked Qatar to the United Arab Emirates through the islands of Haloul and Das, was cut Friday.
Communications in the Middle East have been hardest hit by the damage, though India, the United States and Europe also experienced slowdowns....
The Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said Sunday that no ships had passed through the area in the Mediterranean where two cables, known as the Sea Me We 4 and Flag's Europe-Asia cable, were cut earlier last week.
"The site is a restricted area, which excludes the possibility that the malfunction resulted from a crossing ship," the ministry said in a statement. Internet efficiency in Egypt has reached about 70 percent, the statement said.
A third cable, known as Falcon, was cut Friday morning about 55 kilometers, or 35 miles, off the coast of Dubai in the Gulf. Wet, windy weather in some areas around the Gulf has shut ports and delayed ships.
Two of the damaged cables, the Flag Europe-Asia cable and Falcon, are owned by Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group.
Flag Telecom has never had two cables down at the same time in the region, a spokesman, Vineet Kumar, said.
Flag Telecom's network is one of the "newest in existence" so it would be unlikely that the cables would break because of wear and tear or age.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/04/technology/cables.php
Ruptures call safety of Internet cables into question
By Heather Timmons
Monday, February 4, 2008
NEW DELHI: Four undersea communication cables have been cut in the past week, raising questions about the safety of the oceanic network that handles the bulk of the world's Internet and telephone traffic.
Most telecommunications experts and cable operators say that sabotage seems unlikely, but no one knows what damaged the cables or whether the incidents were related.
One theory - that a wayward ship traveling off course because of bad weather was responsible for cutting the first two cables last week - was dismissed by the Egyptian government over the weekend.
No ships passed the area in the Mediterranean where the cables were located, the country's Ministry of Communications said Sunday.
"This has been an eye-opener for us, and everyone in the telecom industry worldwide," said Colonel R.S. Parihar, the secretary of the Internet Service Providers Association of India.
Today, the cause of the problem may have been an anchor, "but what if it is sabotage tomorrow?" Parihar asked.
"These are owned by private operators, and there are no governments or armies protecting these cables."
Most recently, a cable operated by Qatar's Q-Tel, which linked Qatar to the United Arab Emirates through the islands of Haloul and Das, was cut Friday.
Communications in the Middle East have been hardest hit by the damage, though India, the United States and Europe also experienced slowdowns....
The Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said Sunday that no ships had passed through the area in the Mediterranean where two cables, known as the Sea Me We 4 and Flag's Europe-Asia cable, were cut earlier last week.
"The site is a restricted area, which excludes the possibility that the malfunction resulted from a crossing ship," the ministry said in a statement. Internet efficiency in Egypt has reached about 70 percent, the statement said.
A third cable, known as Falcon, was cut Friday morning about 55 kilometers, or 35 miles, off the coast of Dubai in the Gulf. Wet, windy weather in some areas around the Gulf has shut ports and delayed ships.
Two of the damaged cables, the Flag Europe-Asia cable and Falcon, are owned by Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group.
Flag Telecom has never had two cables down at the same time in the region, a spokesman, Vineet Kumar, said.
Flag Telecom's network is one of the "newest in existence" so it would be unlikely that the cables would break because of wear and tear or age.