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Comment (Another earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale in Taiwan on January 17th has complicated the repair work of the international under-sea fiber-optic cables that were damaged by a similar earth quake at the end of last year.
As reported by the Taiwan Meteorological Bureau, this earthquake didn’t cause any casualties; a telecom expert says, however, the earthquake may have long term negative impact on the ongoing cable repair work.
Due to the 6.7 Richter scale quake that hit Taiwan on December 26th, 2006, six undersea fiber-optic cables were damaged, causing the disruption of internet and phone services in South East Asia. One industry observer company states, “The repair work has been proceeding for four weeks, but none of the cables has been fully recovered yet. Besides a lack of rescue boats, bad weather has also hindered the repair efforts.
China Telecom and China Netcom, two major communication operators on the mainland, declined to comment on the progress of the repair work.
An official with China Telecom said yesterday that the company failed to fulfill its promise of the cables being mended by Wednesday.
However, "the mainland's international fixed-line telecommunication services have been re-established and 70% of Internet services have been restored through alternate routes," said an official with the Shanghai Telecom.
