Internet in Vietnam expected to be slow until Tet

Illustrative image (Photo: fwallpapers.com)

The Asia-America Gateway (AAG) submarine cable has broken once again, causing bandwidth loss from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Singapore and the US.

The line that snapped on Sunday was 98 kilometres off the coast of southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

The repair ship will not be able to access the waters where the damaged cable is located till January 23.

Welding is expected to start on January 25 and last until January 28.

The cable will be buried and the connection will recover by January 29. However, the repairs may last longer if the weather is bad.

In 2016, the 20,000km-long AAG cable was disrupted four times and maintenance work had to be undertaken in March, June, August and September.

The AAG, one of the four intercontinental internet cable systems of Vietnam and the largest, is used by major local providers, namely, FPT Telecom, VNPT, Viettel and SPT.

The AAG cable came into use in November 2009, directly connecting Southeast Asia and the United States. It also links Southeast Asia with Europe, Australia and Africa.

Previously, the Intra Asia cable system snapped and the damage was spotted near Hong Kong on January 10. However, the issue was resolved the same day.

However, the system faced trouble again on January 11 causing discontinuation in connection from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Singapore and the US, affecting Internet speed in Vietnam.

Network providers will expand transmission channels to ensure connectivity this year. The Asia-Pacific Gateway undersea cable system is expected to help double the country’s internet traffic to other countries.

The Asia Africa Euro 1, connecting Asian countries to Europe and Africa, is also under construction and is expected to become operational this year.-VNA