Internet resumes full speed after repairs on two undersea cables

Repairs on the disruption-prone Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), which links Vietnam with Hong Kong and Japan, finished Wednesday, two days later than the original plan while issues with branches along the Intra Asia (IA) cable connecting Vietnam with Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, were fixed Thursday, four days later than schedule.

Late repairs have been ascribed to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic that kept international partners from applying for permits to bring ships into designated sea areas, Vietnam News Agency reported.

In recent years, Vietnam’s undersea cables have experienced technical problems frequently, affecting internet service quality.

Vietnam, where more than 64 percent of the population is online, has six submarine cable systems, plus a 120 gigabit channel that runs overland through China.

The APG cable, officially launched in December 2016, is capable of providing bandwidths of up to 54 Tb/s (terabits per second). It runs for around 10,400 kilometers, with connection points in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The IA cable, which transfers data between Vietnam and Europe, North America and South America, began operations in January 2009.