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Net users to face slowdown

DUBAI — Internet users in the UAE will continue to face a slowdown, as the repair work of the damaged submarine data cable in the Mediterranean Sea will take one more week, both the telecom operators in the country said.

The operators, the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, or Etisalat, and the Emirate Integrated Telecommunications Company, or du, said the cable would be fixed by April 27 as the ship is now scheduled to arrive at the location by April 24 for the repair work.

The damaged cable was supposed to be repaired on April 20, which caused disruptions in UAE internet traffic last week. Although the operators have re-routed Internet and international voice traffic to alternative routes, customers continued to face Internet disruption specially Youtube site access.

“In a recent update from the cable operators, du has been informed that due to technical difficulties, restoration of affected cable has been currently delayed.

The affected cable is expected to be restored to services by April 27,” du said on Wednesday.

Du announced earlier that internet and international voice traffic were rerouted to alternative routes immediately after the cable cut in order to minimise the impact on the services

Earlier, the largest telecom operators in the country, Etisalat, said, “After a sudden Sea-ME-We 4 cable breakdown in the Mediterranean Sea last week, Etisalat customers did not face major slowdowns in Internet browsing owing to its robust network with multiple redundant links to major global Internet hubs in Asia, Europe, and USA. Etisalat re-routed traffic to ensure that Internet services would remain operational in the UAE.”

Etisalat said a new international alternative marine cable routes over the last two days, which has significantly enhanced the Internet streaming services such as Youtube site access.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com