Linode: Major Cuts to Several Submarine Cables to Singapore

http://subtelforum.com/articles/linode-major-cuts-to-several-submarine-cables-to-singapore/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/03/linode_says_several_cables_serving_singapore_cut/

March 3, 2016

elstra has confirmed to The Register that something is amiss. In a statement from a spokesperson, the company said: “Telstra operates several subsea cables connecting to Singapore and we are experiencing some disruption to normal services in the region due to cable damage. We are taking steps to re-route traffic to minimise the impact on our customers while we undertake repairs. We apologise for any inconvenience to our customers.”

The Register can confirm that Linode’s speed-test for Singapore is running far slower than for its US sites.

When it established its Singapore node, Linode said it used transit from Australian Telstra (through its recently-acquired Pacnet operation) and Hong-Kong carrier PCCW.

There are some prospects of a hasty repair as the cable-laying vessel ASEAN Protector was in Singapore earlier this week. Cable-laying ships are, however, in high demand. So when the Lodbrogwas pressed into service fixing the PPC-1 cable near the Australian port of Cairns, it took a few days to secure the services of another Alcatel Submarine Networks ship, the Ile De Rey, to fix the Basslink cable connecting Australia’s mainland to Tasmania.

Seismic activity is a big problem for cable operators in South East Asia, and the region experienced a number of offshore quakes in the past seven days, as the USGS image below illustrates. It’s at least feasible that one of these quakes damaged more than one cable.