Damaged cable throws FPT offline

Vietnam Investment Review, May, 2004 by Hai Van

FPT subscribers lost access to the Internet and international calls for two days last week, after the undersea cable linking the privately-owned ISP with its international exchange in Hong Kong was severed.

Remote-controlled tension sensors detected the cable had been damaged last Monday, said Ngoyen Huu Khanh, director of VTI, an affiliate of state telecom company VNPT that leases the cable to FPT.

Access was restored last Wednesday after FPT began routing its 301,333 subscribers through lines it leased from domestic ISPs VDC and Viettel.

"The SEA-ME-WE3 cable system was cut through in a section close to Hong Kong on the night of May 24. It is not yet clear how the cable was damaged," Khanh said.

The 290 Mbps-capacity cable between...