Author Topic: Third middle east internet cable cut...  (Read 2956 times)

Manedwolf

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Third middle east internet cable cut...
« on: February 01, 2008, 09:16:07 AM »
Either they're having a rash of the world's clumsiest skippers with anchors, or some bad guys have figured that they can tow something on the ocean floor and snag these pretty easily...

From what I'm reading, Egypt is down to 40% bandwidth, India is (mostly) at 80%, and Dubai is partying like it's 1989 on dialup. Saudi Arabia is slow or out, Qatar likewise.

Three at once, one following a day after the others? I'm curious as to the cause

If it stays as this, maybe accident. A fourth, I'd say someones trying to cut off the sandbox from the "decadent west" and its internet with dirty pictures.

Quote
Another undersea cable snag worsens crisis
Riyasbabu and Asma Ali Zain (Staff Reporters)

1 February 2008

DUBAI - A fresh undersea cable damage reported between Dubai and Oman yesterday morning worsened the communication crisis in the Middle East, affecting the telecommunication system in the UAE and some parts of the region.

FLAG telecom, a British company that own the undersea cable network, yesterday said a different undersea Internet cable, FALCON, had been damaged at a location that is over 55km from Dubai, on a stretch between UAE and Oman.

An undersea cable damage in the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Italy has been disrupting the telecommunication system in the region since Wednesday morning. This undersea cable also belonged to FLAG telecom.

Telecom operator dus services were severely affected yesterday with international voice calls suspended.

A statement issued by du said, du has been informed of a new cable damage on the FLAG FALCON cable.

The new development has added further complications to the existing damage to the FLAG Europe-Asia and SEA-ME-WE4 cables. Yesterday mornings cable damage has impacted all international voice calls through the du network. Severe congestion and degradation of international voice calls have occurred as a result. National calls, national SMS and Internet access, however, were not affected by this new incident, the statement added.

du contacted Etisalat promptly and started rerouting its international voice traffic through some of Etisalats international routes with immediate effect. This new incident like the previous one is not under dus control. However, du is committed to keeping its customers informed and updated on the developments in this regard, the statement said.
An Etisalat spokesperson told Khaleej Times that its network was not affected with fresh undersea cable cut as they were not using that cable.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL0125034820080201

Brad Johnson

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2008, 09:42:47 AM »
Funny, I was thinking the same thing.  Three major undersea cables in the same number of days. 

Co-inkydinks?  I think not...

Brad
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"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
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never_retreat

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2008, 09:53:06 AM »
I wonder what the waster depths are out in that area? I they dive able with normal equipment and training?
Anything up to 150' is fair game with simple stuff.
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Manedwolf

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2008, 09:57:31 AM »
I wonder what the waster depths are out in that area? I they dive able with normal equipment and training?
Anything up to 150' is fair game with simple stuff.

Well, the repair ships find the fault and bring it up to fix it...these are fiber cables.

They're also not all that thick. You don't need to dive to wreck them, just put down a drag anchor in an illegal spot where the cable is and go back and forth till it catches on the cable and the line goes taut, then slack.



Probably looks like this one.


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1 Polyethylene cover
2,4 Stranded steel armour wires
3,5 Tar-soaked nylon yarn
6 Polycarbonate insulator
7 Copper sheath
8 Protective core
9 Optical fibres
Not to scale

Brad Johnson

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2008, 10:04:38 AM »
They're also not all that thick. You don't need to dive to wreck them, just put down a drag anchor in an illegal spot where the cable is and go back and forth till it catches on the cable and the line goes taut, then slack.

Heck, for that matter all you have to do is locate the cable and drop the anchor directly on top of it.  A fifteen or twenty ton anchor, even moving only a few feet per second, will completely obliterate a cable that's only a few inches thick.  It would be like dropping a brick on a piece of spaghetti.

Brad
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
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never_retreat

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2008, 05:08:43 PM »
Ever try to hit an exact mark with an anchor. Almost impossible actually. I'm rather good at it and occasional miss 100 foot size wrecks on the bottom of the Atlantic in only a 100' of water too. Plus the size ship that has a 20 ton anchor is BIG so thats out the window for terrorists.

They're also not all that thick. You don't need to dive to wreck them, just put down a drag anchor in an illegal spot where the cable is and go back and forth till it catches on the cable and the line goes taut, then slack.

Heck, for that matter all you have to do is locate the cable and drop the anchor directly on top of it.  A fifteen or twenty ton anchor, even moving only a few feet per second, will completely obliterate a cable that's only a few inches thick.  It would be like dropping a brick on a piece of spaghetti.

Brad
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Ned Hamford

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2008, 05:33:16 PM »
Definately angry merfolk.
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Paddy

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2008, 05:39:02 PM »
I don't care what happens in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.  Those #$%^ are rich enough to put their own satellite in orbit rather than use oceanic cable.

never_retreat

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2008, 06:47:58 PM »
Ya but there is a delay with satellite communications. You wouldn't want to inconvenience the terrorists.

I don't care what happens in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.  Those #$%^ are rich enough to put their own satellite in orbit rather than use oceanic cable.
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #9 on: February 02, 2008, 05:07:38 AM »
Quote
Ever try to hit an exact mark with an anchor. Almost impossible actually.


Not with some forethought and a rudimentary remote camera. 

Maybe I need to add this line to my previous post "Someone could make it look like they accidently dropped their anchor on the line by..."

Brad
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
-HankB

Manedwolf

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Fourth cable just cut...
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2008, 05:01:10 PM »
The FALCON cable this time, one of the newest and most advanced ones.

Four accidents in one week? Um. Right.

http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080202/tbs-india-mideast-internet-558302b.html

Also, Egypt has declared that no ships were present near the first two cut, so it wasn't an anchor mishap.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201867288121&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I really think someone's doing this.

Bogie

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #11 on: February 03, 2008, 05:06:42 PM »
Heh. Hopefully, it's us... Take 'em back to the stone age for a little while, and see if they ask for the return of the gift of fire...
 
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Manedwolf

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #12 on: February 03, 2008, 05:08:02 PM »
I doubt it's us. It's badly impacting India, and hurting lots of US companies that have offices there.

I'd suspect extremists wanting to cut off the "holy land" from the "decadent west".

RocketMan

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #13 on: February 03, 2008, 05:09:03 PM »
Hmmm...veddy in'tresting.
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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #14 on: February 03, 2008, 05:16:00 PM »
Okay, then... Does Pakistan have any subs?

Or what nation with subs would like to see further destabilization in the region?

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RocketMan

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #15 on: February 03, 2008, 05:17:49 PM »
Okay, then... Does Pakistan have any subs?

Or what nation with subs would like to see further destabilization in the region?

Hmmm...veddy in'tresting.
If there really was intelligent life on other planets, we'd be sending them foreign aid.

Conservatives see George Orwell's "1984" as a cautionary tale.  Progressives view it as a "how to" manual.

My wife often says to me, "You are evil and must be destroyed." She may be right.

Liberals believe one should never let reason, logic and facts get in the way of a good emotional argument.

Boomhauer

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #16 on: February 03, 2008, 05:34:29 PM »
Pakistan has some subs.

http://www.nti.org/db/submarines/pakistan/index.html

Quote
The Pakistani Navy currently operates a fleet of eight diesel-electric submarines.[1] The vessels are based in Karachi, but in the future they are to be based at Port Ormara.[1]  The main submarine fleet is comprised of four aging Daphne-class units, two Agosta-70 boats, as well as two modern Agosta-90B submarines, all of French design. An additional Agosta-90B is under construction. The final Agosta 90B will feature DCN's air-independent propulsion system, MESMA (Module d'Energie Sous-Marin Autonome), with which the two earlier Agosta-90B vessels will be retrofitted in the future. Pakistan has also announced its intention to construct additional submarines, in order to maintain its conventional deterrent against India.[2,3] The Pakistani Navy also has four Italian-designed midget submarines. These vessels, as well as the newest Agosta-90B boats, are being constructed at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.[4]

During the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, India effectively blockaded Karachi, Pakistan's only major harbor. Pakistani efforts to curtail India's naval supremacy were largely limited to its submarine force, which was able to sink an Indian frigate.[5] Drawing on these experiences and the perceived threat posed by a larger Indian Navy, Pakistan has been continuously investing in its submarine force, within the constraints posed by its economy.

An effective sea-denial capability is of utmost importance to Pakistan, as 95 percent of its imports are transported by ship.[6] Consequently, Pakistan's Navy in general and submarine flotilla in particular are tasked with protecting Pakistani maritime interests and guaranteeing the security of its sea lanes, and thus its access, to the northern Indian Ocean/Arabian Sea.[6,7,8]

In February 2001, the Pakistani Navy publicly considered the deployment of nuclear weapons aboard its submarines, arguing that it had to keep pace with developments in India.[9] However, in January 2003 Pakistan rescinded its statement, explaining that such an endeavor would be too costly.[10] Yet, shortly afterwards, a high-ranking naval officer stated that while Pakistan currently did not plan to arms its submarines with nuclear weapons, it would do so if forced.[11] Some have alleged that Pakistan is able to mount a nuclear device onto its French-provided SM39 Exocet missiles; however, this is currently unlikely due to the difficulty involved in building a nuclear warhead small enough for the missile (the Exocet normally carries a 165 kg warhead).[12,13]

In January 2006, the Pakistan Navy (PN) decommissioned all four of their Hangor-class submarines:  Hangor, Shushuk, Mangro and Ghazi at the dockyard in Karachi.  This decommissioning brings the total number of active duty submarines in the Pakistani Navy down to five.  However, Pakistan is to receive three Agosta 90B-class boats from France during 2006.[14]     
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Jamisjockey

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Re: Third middle east internet cable cut...
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2008, 02:42:55 AM »
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Navy
Quote
These eight ships are supported by three Russian SSK Kilo attack submarines and Ghadir and Nahang class mini submarines.[1] [2] [3] [4] The Russian built Kilo submarines are considered among the quietest diesel submarines in in the world.[1]
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