Two undersea cables linked to Vietnam encounter problems

The APG cable encountered problems at a section near Thailand starting from Nov. 29, an Internet service provider said Wednesday. The cause of the problem has not been identified even after nearly a week, and so plans to resolve the issue has not been determined.

Another cable, the AAE-1, also encountered problems in two sections: one en-route to Singapore and the other between Vietnam and Cambodia. One section has been repaired in September, while plans to repair the other section have been delayed three times. A network provider said they were notified that connection on the AAE-1 would be restored on Thursday.

Vietnam currently has international Internet connection through five undersea cables: APG, AAP, AAE-1, IA and SMW-3, with a total capacity at 18.7 Tbps. Earlier this year, three out of the five cables encountered problems at the same time, affecting international Internet connection for many people in Vietnam.

Vietnam plans to have 7-9 to nine cables by 2025, before increasing to 9-11 cables by 2030, according to the country’s plan for information and communication infrastructures.