[photopress:undersea_cable.jpg,full,alignright]The repair work of the undersea cables on which the Internet in China is so dependent proceeds more slowly than hoped.
Global Marine has sent two repair ships, along with another four from other rescue companies. The high winds, gusting over 50 knots, across the channel brought waves of 10 to 12 meters in height. No single cable has yet been fully repaired.
Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, part of a consortium that owns four of the eight undersea cables that were cut, said the damage was more extensive than initially thought with its cables severed in at least 10 places.
Sina.com has reported that to deal with this for the future a new undersea cable line, named EAC Pacific, will be constructed to avoid the Luzon Strait.
The Hong Kong Telecommunications Authority said in a statement that repairs on all the damaged cables would not be completed until the middle of February, weather conditions permitting. This is ominous news.
SingTel, Chunghwa and PCCW in Hong Kong said that they were able to quickly reroute nearly all traffic away from the damaged cables. But the alternative routes are circuitous, sometimes degrading the quality of voice traffic and slowing Internet speeds.
Source: International Herald Tribune, Shanghai Daily and wire services
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