PanARMENIAN.Net
Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and
Asia disrupted
20.12.2008 14:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Internet and phone communications between Europe,
the Middle East and Asia were severely disrupted Friday after three
undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, France Telecom
said.
"The causes of the cut, which is located in the Mediterranean between
Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt, remain
unclear," a statement said, while a spokesman said it was unlikely to
have been an attack.
The company said it was sending a boat to fix the lines between Italy
and Egypt but that it would not arrive until Monday and that it could
take until December 31 until normal service was restored.
Most business to business traffic between Europe and Asia was being
rerouted through the United States, the firm said, but regular
communications between Europe and several Asian countries has been
disrupted since early Friday.
Sixty-five per cent of traffic to India was down, while Singapore saw
a 59 percent cut, Malaysia 44 percent, Saudi Arabia 55 percent, Egypt
52 percent, Taiwan 39 percent and Pakistan 51 percent, the AFP
reports.