EGYPT - INDIA - TELECOM
Cable havoc leaves Egypt and India off the Web
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Two separate incidents on undersea cable networks led to the disruption of up to 70% of Internet services in Egypt and India on Wednesday, affecting businesses and financial transactions.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
By Reuters
A communications cable in the Mediterranean was cut on Wednesday, disrupting 70 percent of Egypt's Internet network, the Telecommunications Ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement it was not known how the cable was cut but that services would probably take several days to return to normal.
"This cut has affected Internet services in Egypt with a partial disruption of 70 percent of the network nationwide," it said.
The scale of the impact of the disruption on Egypt's financial services was not immediately clear.
Trading at Egypt's stock exchange continued during the day's session, but one stockbroker said the disruption had an impact on some international orders. Central bank and stock exchange officials were not available for comment.
The disruption stopped sales of airline tickets at Cairo International Airport but did not cause any delays in scheduled flights, said Ashraf Hassan, sales manager at flag carrier EgyptAir.
Up to 60% cut in banwidth in India
India's Internet service was also disrupted by up to 60 percent on Wednesday because of a breakdown in an international undersea cable network, the Internet Service Providers' Association of India said.
"There has been a 50 to 60 percent cut in bandwidth," Rajesh Chharia, the president of the association, told Reuters.
He said companies, including among India's many outsourcing businesses, had been affected.
The ministry said in a statement it was not known how the cable was cut but that services would probably take several days to return to normal.
"This cut has affected Internet services in Egypt with a partial disruption of 70 percent of the network nationwide," it said.
The scale of the impact of the disruption on Egypt's financial services was not immediately clear.
Trading at Egypt's stock exchange continued during the day's session, but one stockbroker said the disruption had an impact on some international orders. Central bank and stock exchange officials were not available for comment.
The disruption stopped sales of airline tickets at Cairo International Airport but did not cause any delays in scheduled flights, said Ashraf Hassan, sales manager at flag carrier EgyptAir.
Up to 60% cut in banwidth in India
India's Internet service was also disrupted by up to 60 percent on Wednesday because of a breakdown in an international undersea cable network, the Internet Service Providers' Association of India said.
"There has been a 50 to 60 percent cut in bandwidth," Rajesh Chharia, the president of the association, told Reuters.
He said companies, including among India's many outsourcing businesses, had been affected.
There are no reactions so far.
Be the first user to react to this article.
You will only have to select the button <<REACT>> and fill the indicated fields.
Your reaction
Your reaction has been sent to FRANCE 24. Thank you for your feedback.
France 24 - Send by e-mail
The article has successfully been sent by email
