The breakdown of Internet cables: Services go back to normal

VietNamNet Bridge – Though it is not certain whether the problem was completely fixed,
Internet and international phone services went back to normal late afternoon 01/01. According to service providers, the lesson to remember was that depending solely on international partners and sea cables is dangerous.

No compensation for harms done

After the serious cable breaking in Taiwan, service providers tried their best to overcome difficulties and "feed" channels transmitting signals internationally. The common solution that VDC, FPT and Viettel used was to send their channels through satellites, made use of reserved bandwidth, and increased connection from partners.

Domestic as well as international efforts helped to ease Vietnamese Internet citizens’ distress. According to a representative of VDC, about 80% of the flow of the international channels under VDC management is operating stably. The channels connected with Singtel and T-System were completely restored.

Channels to the U.S and Japan are being restored. VDC’s Frame Relay and
IPVPN services were transferred to satellite channels. Thus, customers can use these services as usual.

As for how to “compensate” customers to whom the incident has done damage, the representatives of these companies responded that it was only an accident, so talking about compensation in this case would be inappropriate. That said, the companies would try to support customers as well as they could. According to Viettel, to subscribers whose services were completely halted, the company might not charge subscription fees. Or the fees could be reduced.

Congestion and flickering may happen

At present, email and chat services are relatively stable. However, experts warned of possible congestion or flickering at busy hours today (02/01) when offices re-opened after the New Year.

This warning seems to be justified because not only domestic but international providers said the problem hasn’t been completely fixed. It’s even likely that things will not go back to normal until mid January/2007.
To the question, "after this accident, what will providers do to stop this deadly hole," Mr. Hien answered, "depending on partners and sea cables is too risky and full of limits. That’s why using different channels, and prioritizing satellite ones, is quite urgent. It is also necessary to work with various partners who have many different channels themselves.”

Experts said that it is customers’ right to demand satellite channels, which can meet the demand for economic security, especially in areas involving e-transactions.

(Source: Lao dong)