2008 submarine cable disruption

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ansell (talk | contribs) at 22:42, 6 February 2008 (→‎January 23: had -> was, seems better to indicate that the event wasn't unreal just because it had not been reported, rather emphasise that it was real, though it was not reported at the time). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The 2008 submarine cable disruption was the cutting of five high speed Internet Submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East over a period of 12 days from January 23 to February 4, 2008.[1] Three of these disruptions were initially attributed by officials to accidents involving ship's anchors,[2][3] however, reviews of surveillance footage of the area by Egyptian authorities revealed no ships in the area.[4]

Some have suggested something more sinister is afoot and conspiracy theories are spreading through the Internet.[5][6] Telecommunication companies fear more cable disruptions in the future.[7] The incident has also called into doubt the safety of the Internet cable system.[8]

Cables damaged

January 23

Although it was not reported at the time, there was a cut of FALCON on January 23.[1] The FALCON cable system connects several countries in the Persian Gulf and India.

January 30

On January 30, 2008, news agencies reported Internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent following damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG Telecom cables in the Mediterranean Sea.[9] The New York Times reported that the damage occurred to the two systems separately near Alexandria and Marseilles.[10] While the respective contributions of the two cable systems to this blackout is unclear, network outage graphs show anomalies at 0430 UTC and again at 0800 UTC.[11] The cause of the damage to SEA-ME-WE 4 or FLAG has not been declared by either cable operator.[3]A number of sources speculated these were caused by a dragging ship anchor near Alexandria. The Egyptian Maritime Transport Ministry reviewed one day of complete video footage beginning 12 hours before and through 12 hours after the service disruption, concluding the cause of damage was not surface craft as no ships were traced sailing through the area of the alleged wire damage.[12][2][3]The Kuwaitis also do not directly charge sea-faring vessels, instead referring to "weather conditions and maritime traffic."[13]

February 1

Two days after the initial break, it was reported that a cable was cut between Muscat, Oman, and Dubai, UAE.[1], This cut was between different landing points than the January 23 cut, FLAG Telecom issued a press release later, stating the "FALCON cable is reported cut at 0559 hrs GMT on February 1 2008. Location of cut is at 56 km from Dubai, UAE on segment between UAE and Oman."[14]

February 3

On February 3, 2008, Qtel reported that a cable called DOHA-HALOUL connecting Qatar to the United Arab Emirates had been damaged, causing disruptions in already damaged Middle Eastern communication networks. It became the fourth cable to be damaged in 5 days. [15] The location of the break is between the Qatari island of Haloul and the UAE island of Das[16]. The problem is said to be related to the power system.[17]

February 4

On February 4th the Khaleej Times reported that SEA-ME-WE-4 had also been damaged at another location, near Penang, Malaysia.[9]

Effects

Disruptions of 70 percent in Egypt and 60 percent in India were reported, along with problems in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Maldives, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.[2][18][19]

1.7 million Internet users in the UAE have been affected by the Internet disruption. Mahesh Jaishanker, an executive director for Du, said, “The submarine cable cuts in FLAG Europe-Asia cable 8.3 km away from Alexandria, Egypt and SeaMeWe-4 affected at least 60 million users in India, 12 million in Pakistan, six million in Egypt and 4.7 million in Saudi Arabia.”[9] A router for a university in Tehran was not responding.[20] However the Iranian embassy told ArabianBusiness.com that "everything was fine."[21][22]

Map of Areas Affected

File:Four established break in cables.PNG

Further reading

  • Map by The Guardian of the submarine cables in the world, highlighting the first two cables cut

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cable damage hits one million Internet Users". Khaleej News. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. ^ a b c "Severed cables disrupt Internet". BBC News. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ a b c "Cable damage hits Internet connectivity". The Times of India. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-01-31. Cite error: The named reference "TOI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Ships did not cause Internet cable damage". Khaleej Times. 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  5. ^ Three Internet Cables Slashed in a Week: Has Iran lost all Internet Connectivity?
  6. ^ "Who cuts undersea cables in the Middle East?". Al Bawaba. 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2008-02-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iq6J_FNiSpDCFlO4WmOeEFXi8faQ
  8. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/04/technology/cables.php
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Khaleej Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Timmons, Heather (2008-01-31). "2 Communication Cables in the Mediterranean Are Cut". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  11. ^ Zmijewski, Earl (2008-01-30). "Mediterranean Cable Break". Renesys Blog. Renesys. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  12. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/04/2153455.htm
  13. ^ Agence France Press (2008-01-31). "Indian outsourcing sector hit by Internet disruption". Google News. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  14. ^ Flag Telecom cut cable update
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ http://www.arabianbusiness.com/510132-internet-problems-continue-with-fourth-cable-break?ln=en
  17. ^ http://mathaba.net/news/?x=580660
  18. ^ The Associated Press (1 February 2008). "Cable Break Causes Wide Internet Outage". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  19. ^ Minivannews.com (4 February 2008). "Broken Submarine Cable Affects Raajje Online And Wataniya". Minivannews.com. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  20. ^ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=15a_1201978059
  21. ^ Dylan Bowman.Flag plays down net blackout conspiracy theories, ArabianBusiness.com, 4 February 2008
  22. ^ http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/221875
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