Japan is the transit of most of the transpacific cables connecting Asia with the USA. The earthquake of 3/11 has ruptured numerous undersea cables in the Pacific ocean. It has impacted the internet traffic. Optical Fiber is made of silica, the primary raw material of glass. The quake has again demonstrated the fragility of undersea optical fiber cable networks.
The submarine cable operators are, however, notoriously secretive about the state of their networks. Stephen Lawson of IDG News wrote, “Quake Damage to Japan Cables Greater Than Thought.” The Wall Street Journal further reveals:
About half of the existing cables running across the Pacific are damaged and “a lot of people are feeling a little bit of slowing down of Internet traffic going to the United States,” said Bill Barney, chief executive of Hong Kong-based cable-network operator Pacnet. He declined to name the damaged cables operated by other companies, but said Pacnet’s cable system connecting Japan to the U.S. isn’t damaged so far.
Most international Internet-data and voice phone calls are transmitted as pulses of light via the hundreds of undersea fiber-optic cables. The cables, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, are typically owned by consortia of telecom companies, who share costs and capacity.
While the clusters of glass fibers are enclosed in protective material, they remain vulnerable to undersea earthquakes, fishing trawlers and ship anchors. There are also many choke points around the globe, where a number of cables converge.
While the extent of the damage to undersea cables is unclear and financial losses unknown, operators said they are undergoing an inspection and looking to expedite restoration.
Pacnet aims to repair two damaged segments of its East Asia Crossing network connecting Japan to other parts of Asia, like Taiwan and Hong Kong, within five to seven days, Mr. Barney said. He played down concerns about any financial impact on Pacnet or regional telecom operators from the damaged cables.
Read the full story here.
Comments are closed.