Following the break of three underwater Internet cables in the Mediterranean early last Friday, France Telecom has sent a ship, the "Raymond Croze," to examine and repair the damage. The cables are now thought to have been accidentally cut by a ship's anchor, and repairs were started yesterday at 1330 GMT; they will last until at least the start of the new year. The three cables affected were SEA-ME-WE3, SEA-ME-WE4 and FLAG, all owned by different consortiums, though France Telecom has a stake in the first two.
Upon arriving at the scene, experts sent down a remotely operated submarine robot, known as "Hector," to track down the damage. However, a spokesman for France Telecom stated that the company did not know how long it would take to locate the cables, as an anchor could have dragged them several kilometers from their original locations. Nevertheless, the company believes that SEA-ME-WE3 will be repaired by the end of the year, and that SEA-ME-WE4 will be repaired by December 25th. The repair ship for the FLAG cable, called "Teliri" and operated by India's Reliance Globalcom, was still en route as of today, but the company hopes to have the damage repaired by the end of the week.
According to France Telecom, the situation has already improved for regions affected by the cuts, including India, Singapore, and Egypt. In fact, the Egyptian government has confirmed that over 80% of its Internet capacity had been restored.
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