Undersea cable problem snarls Internet access in Taiwan

Asian Economic News, Feb 12, 2001

TAIPEI, Feb. 9 Kyodo

An estimated 5 million Internet users in Taiwan were unable to download e-mail and access web sites overseas Friday due to a ruptured undersea cable, local media reported.

Taiwan Internet service providers Seednet and Hinet, which is a subsidiary of state-run Chunghwa Telecom Co., were severely affected by the cable problem and flooded with phone calls from angry subscribers.

Many were unable to download e-mail from U.S.-based free account providers such as Yahoo and Hotmail. Similar Internet access problems were reported in China on Friday.

However, Seednet officials said that access to local web sites as well as to Southeast Asian ones was regular.

Hinet officials said it is believed that a fishing vessel ruptured the optic fiber cable, which runs through the Taiwan Strait and the Sea of Japan to the United States, some 300 kilometers off Shanghai, early Friday.

Chunghwa Telecom said repairs are expected to take at least two weeks, but cannot be carried out by the Taiwan side since the area where the damage occurred is not under Taiwan jurisdiction.

The cable, which is a multinational joint venture connecting countries in the region including China, Japan, and South Korea, began operating in January last year.

Chunghwa Telecom was rerouting phone calls and Internet traffic through the four other cables to the U.S. as well as satellites, but said it might be markedly more difficult to get connected.