It is the second time in 2008 that India witnessed a large scale Internet services cut due to submarine cable damage.  In January, Internet services and international calls were also partly cut in India, along with a number of countries in the Middle East and South Asia.

Three major undersea cables - SeaMeWe 4, SeaMeWe 3 and Reliance Communication'sFLAG Europe Asia cable - that carry a bulk of the internet traffic between Asia and the rest of the world - have been cut in the Mediterranean region between Egypt and Italy due to seismic activity. Tata Communications (earlier VSNL) is part of the consortium for SMW3 as well as SMW4 while Bharti Airtel is a member of SMW4.

The cause of cable cut has been suspected as seismic activities. This time the cut is near Palermo in Italy, affecting the overall traffic between India and Europe. The three cables are not expected to be functional for the next few days. Undersea cables are prone to disruption due to natural causes like seismic activity and may also be caused by ship anchors.

Cable cut effect were instantly felt in India, however most of the ISPs alternate routing came in effect just after few minutes of the incident. It is said that from Monday we may see big difference in traffic and internet speed as on Saturday and Sundays are usually less active in terms of activities in BPOs which relies heavily on internet.

So have you noticed it ?

Its incredible that we still rely on something as susceptible to damage as a undersea cable.

I remember Gilligan on Gilligan's Island finding a cable and that still didn't help them get of the island.


Tim