Posted on 06/28/2005 8:53:42 AM PDT by Altair333
A fault in an undersea cable has crippled many of Pakistan's internet and mobile phone links overseas. The fault occurred late on Monday and systems are still down. One internet official said it could take two weeks to repair.
The fault has been traced to a point in the Arabian Sea 35km (21 miles) south of Karachi and technicians from Dubai are travelling to make repairs.
Pakistan has more than 10 million internet users.
Disruption could also occur in India, the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti and Oman, which are also linked by the cable, Pakistani telecommunications officials said.
Ground to halt
Shahid Ahmed, chief engineer of Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL), which operates the link, said of the repair work: "This is a highly sophisticated operation and only specialised companies can undertake such a delicate task under the sea.
"Pakistan has no such ability."
Mr Ahmed said the consortium of 92 countries that owns the cable had asked operating agent Singtel of Singapore to fix the fault.
He said Singtel had called in Dubai-based E-Marine but its ship could take a day just to reach the site.
Internet Service Providers Association general secretary, VA Abdi, said: "I fear it could take two weeks to repair because it will require the removal of the faulty portion of the cable.
"The cable provides Pakistan's major outer communication means and its fault has disrupted almost all communications with the rest of the world."
In Pakistan, much internet-based work ground to a halt.
Rahim Kothari, a foreign exchange dealer in Karachi, told the Reuters agency: "We're sitting here idle doing nothing. Trading volume has fallen by almost 80%."
The cable company promises they will be at the location between 1PM and 5 PM two weeks from today.
I thought Bush had placed them on Double Secret Probation and this was their punishment.
fyi
I was wondering where all our Pakistani FReepers had gone to.
Wouldn't it be something if Bush made his speech with bin Laden caged up in the background? Those poll numbers would turn around immediately and the Dumbocrats would look like idiots. I have to believe there is a lot of stuff going on in the war on terror that we never hear about. Perhaps this is an indicator. At least I hope so.
Supposedly the NSA or other US agency has the ability to tap into underseas cable by placing a large box full of equipment beside the cable via submarine and then somehow splicing into the fiber.
Or Microsoft.
I can't help but remember Maylasia going dark before 9/11. ::shivers::
Now our loyal ally in the War on Terror won't be able to coordinate kidnappings and killings of Americans worldwide and will be unable to spread illegal nuclear information to countrys that want to incinerate millions of Americans.
This is upsetting!
Think of the possibilities.....
Thanks, Dave!
Don't get your hopes up, as Francis Bacon used to say.
No Comment! :)
I don't do that but I can hope. We could use some really good news on the war on terror. Bin Laden's head on a platter would be a good start. We should have got the bastard a long time ago.
I agree. Something tells me this is a cover.
I think we did and can't scrape up enough evidence.
Too bad the name of the sub' is the USS Jimmy Carter.
I say the internet should be cut for the whole region... it is a favorite recruitment and propaganda tool for the region...
N. Korea Reportedly Cuts Int'l Phone Lines(many problems bubbling up inside)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1432363/posts?page=1
Neither am I, but I do know a little bit about communications. Telco grade connections to any SEP (Signaling End Point) require link diversity. Link Diversity is described as more than one link with no more than 35% capacity on any link without augmentation. If the Indians use this same cable, they will likely have redundant links (Link Diversity). The broken cable is probably fiber, and the Pakistanis are probably relying on older, copper carrier cables as a backup, and they are unable to carry the traffic loads. The Paks probably got caught by this outage before they could get another cable installed. Bummer.
Satelites do not have the capacity to carry the traffic loads either, and are very expensive.
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