backtop


Print E-mail del.icio.us 31 comment(s) - last by audiomaniaca.. on Dec 31 at 6:32 AM


Where the damage has been done  (Source: Telegeography)
It's unknown how the undersea cable was damaged, but engineers must now fix it

Days after two undersea cables in the Mediterranean Sea were severed; a French ship is now on scene to help begin repairs on two of three damaged cables.  Engineers believe the cables were mistakenly cut by a ship's anchor.

Telecommunications companies ranging from Cairo to Dubai were forced to reroute service through other Asian and North American hosts.

Telecommunication specialists will use a robotic submarine to help analyze where the cables were damaged, then they'll be pulled to the surface for engineers to fix on the ship.  Two of the cables are used by France Telecom, with the other cable operated by Reliance Globalcom.

France Telecom hopes to have one cable repaired on December 25, with the other cable fixed sometime before the end of the year.

Internet and telecommunications were cut for two days in Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.  Other nations, including Zambia, India and Taiwan, also had varying levels of downtime and sluggishness with service.  Around 80 percent of overall Internet capability in Egypt is fully operational again.  

The entire Middle East only uses three sea cables for all of its Internet traffic, so the cut sea cables could drastically impact business in the region.

This marks the second time in 2008 that the same undersea line had been cut -- the first time, in January, was also reportedly caused by the anchor from a passing ship.  All cables used in the undersea cable network are designed to withstand punishment, but fishing and shipping industries along with volcanic activity and extreme weather can damage the cables.



Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Uhuh
By DarkElfa on 12/23/2008 6:10:28 AM , Rating: 2
Now I'm a believer in coincidence, but is it just me or does it seem that the middle east is getting it web cut off a bit too often? I say its either its enemies, like the US or UK doing it or a group of extremists that don't like the free flow of info getting to their sheep.




RE: Uhuh
By gevorg on 12/23/2008 6:34:27 AM , Rating: 5
If it was intentional, Israel is a more likely suspect than US or UK.


RE: Uhuh
By DarkElfa on 12/23/2008 6:36:51 AM , Rating: 5
But being in the Middle East, aren't they subject to interruption as well?


RE: Uhuh
By christianspoer on 12/23/2008 6:42:08 AM , Rating: 2
Ever heard of military satellites? :)


RE: Uhuh
By ViroMan on 12/23/2008 6:51:12 AM , Rating: 2
but are you going to let the businesses tap into your military sats?


RE: Uhuh
By c4xp on 12/23/2008 7:01:38 AM , Rating: 2
He means that, military operations are not restricted, only civilian businesses. So that they can control the flow of information to their citizens.


RE: Uhuh
By crystal clear on 12/23/2008 7:42:29 AM , Rating: 3
Yes even in the previous "episodes"(sic) of cutting/damaging internet cables, Israel/USA were accused of doing it - without evidence ofcourse.


RE: Uhuh
By Beno on 12/23/2008 3:33:48 PM , Rating: 2
nope, israel isnt affected by this.
their cables go through turkey, while other countries go through egypt.

thats not an accusation, but israel's cables are completly in other area. and israel is not alone, lebanon is also not affected.


RE: Uhuh
By crystal clear on 12/23/2008 7:32:26 AM , Rating: 4
Accusing some or any nation without evidence is wrong.

You neither have the evidence nor anything positive to contribute to the discussion.

Yes you certainly are Anti Israeli & maybe even anti USA/UK- you are certainly entitled to have your own opinions,but that does not make some nation/s guilty of a crime.

Please dont bring in the middle east crisis or politics into the discussion-not interested in discussing the issue.

My response is directed to the issue & NOT YOU in anyway.


RE: Uhuh
By mattclary on 12/23/2008 8:57:14 AM , Rating: 3
As others have said, I am sure this affects Israel too. And satellites aren't going to pick up the slack.


RE: Uhuh
By os008 on 12/26/2008 9:13:40 AM , Rating: 2
Someone already posted above about that, it won't affect Israel, because they use different routes. And the news said nothing about Israel being affected!


RE: Uhuh
By amanojaku on 12/23/2008 7:16:21 AM , Rating: 5
I keep telling the little mermaid not to swim with scissors. :-(


RE: Uhuh
By JosefTor on 12/23/2008 8:20:18 AM , Rating: 2
I think that if a specific country or extremist group was doing the cutting that they would cut all the cables instead of leaving one or more each time.


RE: Uhuh
By xaglx on 12/23/2008 1:03:48 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
or a group of extremists that don't like the free flow of info getting to their sheep.


Extremist groups like Al Qaeda rely on the web as a cheap means of freely disseminating their ideals to the masses and gaining constituents. Why would they cut their own cord to such a valuable resource?


let's think abt it...
By JohnBlue on 12/23/2008 9:34:04 AM , Rating: 2
I think the Israelis have a direct fiber optic line coming from the White House- none of this affects them. lol. I kid, but you get my point.

If you don't believe me, look through the stories last year when all those lines kept getting cut- you will NOT see Israel in the list of countries impacted. You will see every other Arab nation listed though.

Might be just sheer coincidence though. lol. I kid, but you get my point.

I bet they are trying out possible war games, strategies, and such. After all, the first thing to go in an invasion is communication.

Funny thing is, most Americans are worried about Israel when Israel possesses enough American weaponry to destroy the Middle East a hundred times over- this INCLUDES nuclear/chemical and biological weapons.

Oh well. We Americans voted for GWB... TWICE. lol.

And no, this is not an antisemitic post and what not man- keep that kool-aid to yourself. Simple facts, especially the second half. The first half, is opinion, but come on, lol. You have to admit there is a decent chance it might be true. The Middle East keeps getting it's internet cut and Israel is not affected. Ships I guess just love to sail dragging their anchors........ you know how good it is for efficiency + fuel consumption, especially in such marvelous economic times. lol.




RE: let's think abt it...
By PhoenixKnight on 12/23/2008 9:39:32 AM , Rating: 3
Those Star of David-shaped anchors must have really sharp edges.


RE: let's think abt it...
By JohnBlue on 12/23/2008 9:49:28 AM , Rating: 2
yup... and apparently they love to sail dragging them along the ocean floor. lol.

you would think the captain would notice... lolz.

odds are a couple of mossad agents just happened to be doing some snorkeling in the middle of the sea. :p


RE: let's think abt it...
By crystal clear on 12/23/2008 10:13:26 AM , Rating: 2
Lets think about it....you give NO evidence to prove Israel is responsible for this...you get my point....

Your comment....guess work at its best.

As for Israel ... I sure they would like these lines WORKING ALL THE TIME to track all those TERRORIST organizations & their supporters/backers/financers-Israel would certainly collect plenty of valuable intelligence information for the USA & E.U.

Yes also to track IRAN in its quest for nuclear weapons & FINANCING TERRORIST organization.

Get my point...lets think abt it....this way....so they will NOT CUT THOSE VALUABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION or LINES.


RE: let's think abt it...
By PhoenixKnight on 12/23/2008 10:36:21 AM , Rating: 2
I read his comment as more of an ironic parody of the institutionalized paranoia that is instilled in the people in many Arab countries toward Israel. There are tons of crazy conspiracy theories that exist toward Israel (and the US, for that matter), particularly in Middle Eastern countries, and his post was merely making fun of and insulting those crazy conspiracy theories.


RE: let's think abt it...
By crystal clear on 12/23/2008 10:42:44 AM , Rating: 2
Then enjoy ! Merry Christmas.


RE: let's think abt it...
By iolaos2 on 12/24/2008 3:45:04 AM , Rating: 2
Nations with relatively sophisticated submarine navies (the US and by proxy Israel) have the capability to tap undersea cables without pulling them to the surface. Other nations have to use the guise of repair to place a collection point.

Continental Europeans have always been behind in SIGINT compared to the US and Britain. They often possess only a single collection point for a fibre link while the US taps the source, the cable, the destination, etc, simultaneously.


RE: let's think abt it...
By JohnBlue on 12/24/2008 11:28:25 AM , Rating: 2
lolz...

You are nuts.

You are Israeli, aren't you? Well, at least Jewish which I guess is basically one in the same.

lolz.

Ok buddy.

I guess going by your point then Israel should be installing fiber optic cables in every household in the Middle East, so they can track them better. :p

By the way, the internet is becoming one of the main (if not primary) communication mediums for terrorists. So, hypothetically, wouldn't it make more sense, if Israel was as righteous as you want to make them appear, to not want there to be such a communication medium? Oh right. I guess they want them to communicate so they can track them. What are they using? Google Maps? TomTom? lolz.

Oh, and about the paranoia talk that is supposedly instilled in the Arabs, last time I checked it was the Americans scared to death about some weapons that are destructive or something- I forgot. lolz.

If we are going to talk about paranoia, I think Americans/Israelis will take the cake for thinking every Arab and by proxy Muslim is a terrorist who wants to destroy the world. ;)

(that's well over 1 billion people mind u... take out india/china... and that's 1 in every 4 human beings... )

Arabs are just getting tired of having Israeli F-16s flying over Beirut at very levels with the customary sonic boom. Having Iraq bombed back to the stone age. Having Palestinians being massacred... you know, stuff like that. Couple cables aren't no big deal when you have bombs coming at you.

By the way, Mr. Clear, why are you worried about Iran? You have enough nuclear weapons to destroy Iran and the entire Middle East 20 times over. I am assuming you're Israeli. Let's face it, you're not worried about them. You just want some more American sympathy so the government can send you some more nukes and that fancy F-22 and a few stealth bombers. ;)

Now. Back to those spiffy Star of David anchors... :p


RE: let's think abt it...
By JohnBlue on 12/24/2008 11:37:10 AM , Rating: 2
Wanted to add another about paranoia:

Reminds me of that lady who didn't trust Obama because she thought he was an Arab.... lolz.

Who are the paranoid ones? Which population gave Bush a blank check to systematically destroy a nation? Yet we believe they hate us and we don't hate them. Right. We bomb and destroy a nation to cheers. Shock and Awe, is it? Mightily impressed with ourselves. Few years later we then say, "OOPS!" Sweet. Oh no though, they are the paranoid ones. Well, if you just got invaded and bombed and have foreign troops strolling your streets, I think you would be a tad paranoid too.... lolz.

Let it sink in. ;)


RE: let's think abt it...
By crystal clear on 12/26/2008 1:20:59 AM , Rating: 2
Nationality & religion is not the focus of the discussion & neither relevant.

Please dont bring in the middle east crisis or politics into the discussion-not interested in discussing the issue

I repost my earlier comment-

RE: Uhuh
By crystal clear on 12/23/08, Rating: 3
By crystal clear on 12/23/2008 7:32:26 AM , Rating: 3

Accusing some or any nation without evidence is wrong.

You neither have the evidence nor anything positive to contribute to the discussion.

Yes you certainly are Anti Israeli & maybe even anti USA/UK- you are certainly entitled to have your own opinions,but that does not make some nation/s guilty of a crime.

Please dont bring in the middle east crisis or politics into the discussion-not interested in discussing the issue.

My response is directed to the issue & NOT YOU in anyway.


RE: let's think abt it...
By SoylentG on 12/23/2008 10:36:03 AM , Rating: 2
Intel has a large group of engineers working in Israel. More than likely the upgrades instituted to support a highly technology driven engineering facility stabilized the internet's source to a greater degree than a wire running along the bottom of the ocean in a relatively shallow area.


RE: let's think abt it...
By os008 on 12/26/2008 9:20:49 AM , Rating: 2
Aren't Arabs Semetic too. I always laugh at the word 'anti-semetic' used by Jews, i think 'anti-zionist' would be more accurate!

I'm Egyptian and must say that those cable cuts makes one think about vandalism more than co-incidence, but sure, the conditions in the Med Sea are harsh, but also, don't blame ships EVERYTIME!


oil vs. information
By mattclary on 12/23/2008 8:55:56 AM , Rating: 5
Sounds like the rest of the world has a resource that is pretty valuable to the middle east. ;)




RE: oil vs. information
By PhoenixKnight on 12/23/2008 12:31:55 PM , Rating: 2
All your internet are belong to us.


THe end is nigh
By Mithan on 12/23/2008 7:10:07 AM , Rating: 2
This is part of the Illuminati taking over the world with the New World Order.

When you all are unemployed and starving in teh US next year, you will know more.




North American?
By PhoenixKnight on 12/23/2008 9:26:22 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Telecommunications companies ranging from Cairo to Dubai were forced to reroute service through other Asian and North American hosts.


Do you mean North African hosts, seeing as the cables are near the northern tip of Africa and at least a thousand miles away from North America?




Again??
By audiomaniaca on 12/31/2008 6:32:50 AM , Rating: 2
Damn! Again?

That's why my porn was so slow last week!




"There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere." -- Isaac Asimov

DailyTech Poll
Do you use copy/paste on your smartphone? 




7 Comments












botimage
Copyright 2010 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki