Internet Services in Vietnam Restored after AAG Cable Repaired

According to information from SaigonMoney.com, Asia-America Gateway cable fault was completely repaired on Monday (March 28, 2011) after a problematic month that hampered some of the nation’s international internet services for 20 days. The Asia-America Gateway (AAG) submarine cable system was cut off Vung Tau Cable Landing Station in Vietnam on March 10, 2011.

FPT Telecom confirmed its international internet is running normally and that its clients can access any web, email and other internet services which have Internet Protocol addresses in foreign countries.

According to the company, during the breakdown, it added internal internet capacity from other channels to ensure its clients’ access.

“To avoid another breakdown, FPT Telecom plans to increase its international internet capacity from 50Gbps to 100Gbps this year,” FPT Telecom said.

Like FPT Telecom, other providers including Viettel, SPT and VNPT also confirmed that their international internet is back to normal.

“Now, international internet connecting Vietnam and other countries is running smoothly after VNPT and other partners repaired the cable in Vung Tau,” Le Ngoc Duc, director of VDC Telecom under Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, told the Daily on the phone on Monday.

According to Duc, VNPT lost around 30% of its international internet capacity when the breakdown occurred.

Meanwhile, Viettel also said its clients in the north of the country lost 20% of its international internet connections.

AAG has an undersea optical cable with a capacity of 2 Terabit per second. Running 20,000 kilometers in length, it is the only cable network connecting South East Asia to America, running through Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong and the Philippines to the U.S.

The cable construction cost US$560 million with money coming from 20 telecom providers around the world. VNPT invested US$40 million, while FPT Telecom contributed US$10 million.