Vietnam's internet connection fixed after 3 weeks of disruption

By Nguyen Quy   September 9, 2018 | 08:09 pm PT
Vietnam's internet connection fixed after 3 weeks of disruption
Young people surf the Internet at a cafe in Hanoi. Photo by AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam
Millions of Vietnamese internet users breathed a sigh of relief as the Asia America Gateway cable’s signal loss problem was resolved Saturday.

Media reports quoted service provider VNPT as saying the repair work was completed three days earlier than expected.

The work was done by "an international partner" by 4:20 p.m. Saturday, a source from VNPT was quoted as saying.

The cable encountered a technical problem for the fourth time this year on August 23 following at least five similar incidents in 2017.

The problem was in the portion connecting to Vietnam’s southern beach town of Vung Tau, causing a traffic slowdown on international websites.

The $560-million cable, laid in 2009, handles more than 60 percent of the country’s international internet traffic.

It was developed by 19 partners from the U.S., Australia and Southeast Asia, running more than 20,000 kilometers (12,420 miles) across the regions, passing through Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It has always faced a very high risk of rupture and frequently had trouble, affecting all service providers in Vietnam.

More than 50 million people in Vietnam, or more than half of its population, are internet users.

 
 
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