forwarded by Michael Gurstein to the Community
Informatics list...
-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony Townsend [mailto:atownsend@iftf.org]
Sent: June 28, 2005 8:03 PM
To: Urban Technology & Telecommunications
Subject: [telecom-cities] BBC - "Pakistan's internet
link crippled"
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4630457
.stm
Pakistan's internet link crippled
A fault in an undersea cable has crippled many of
Pakistan's internet
and mobile phone links overseas.
The fault occurred late on Monday and systems are still
down. One
internet official said it could take two weeks to
repair.
The fault has been traced to a point in the Arabian Sea
35km (21
miles) south of Karachi and technicians from Dubai are
travelling to
make repairs.
Pakistan has more than 10 million internet users.
Disruption could also occur in India, the United Arab
Emirates,
Djibouti and Oman, which are also linked by the cable,
Pakistani
telecommunications officials said.
Ground to halt
Shahid Ahmed, chief engineer of Pakistan
Telecommunication (PTCL),
which operates the link, said of the repair work: "This
is a highly
sophisticated operation and only specialised companies
can undertake
such a delicate task under the sea.
"Pakistan has no such ability."
Mr Ahmed said the consortium of 92 countries that owns
the cable had
asked operating agent Singtel of Singapore to fix the
fault.
He said Singtel had called in Dubai-based E-Marine but
its ship could
take a day just to reach the site.
Internet Service Providers Association general
secretary, VA Abdi,
said: "I fear it could take two weeks to repair because
it will
require the removal of the faulty portion of the cable.
"The cable provides Pakistan's major outer communication
means and
its fault has disrupted almost all communications with
the rest of
the world."
In Pakistan, much internet-based work ground to a halt.
Rahim Kothari, a foreign exchange dealer in Karachi, tol
d the Reuters
agency: "We're sitting here idle doing nothing. Trading
volume has
fallen by almost 80%."