Vietnam's internet cable breaks for the 2nd time affecting online platforms including Facebook and Google

[ASEAN NOW News 106]

Users of 3G, 4G networks are among those expected to be affected by the Asia America Gateway's problem. File Photo.

 

Vietnam's internet connection via the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable broke down again, only two days after being fixed.

 

A representative of a network service provider in Vietnam said a fault had been detected Monday at the SH1 branch of the Asia America Gateway (AAG).

 

The fault was at an undersea optical fiber cable that lies around 107 kilometers off beach town Vung Tau in southern Vietnam.

 

The problem may affect about 15 percent of the total connection capacity from Vietnam to international destinations, especially Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

Services with large traffic like Facebook and Gmail are most affected.

 

According to Vietnam Internet Association, many domestic providers still rely on the AAG cable for their international Internet connection traffic, while the issue would affect users of 3G, 4G networks along with international social network users.

 

On June 22, the AAG encountered a problem on the S1H branch, which took until July 2 to be fixed.

 

Yet during reparations, new errors had been discovered and therefore the process had lasted longer than expected and was not completed by July 17.

 

Six submarine cables

 

Vietnam has six submarine cable systems and a 120-gigabit channel that runs overland through China.

 

 

Connected in November 2009, the $560 million AAG handles more than 60 percent of the country’s international Internet traffic.

 

The cable runs more than 20,000 kilometers (12,420 miles), connecting Southeast Asia with the U.S., passing through Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

 

But it has experienced frequent ruptures and repairs, affecting services in Vietnam, where more than 64 percent of the population is online.

 

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