Three international submarine cable lines that make up most of Vietnam’s internet connection to the world have experienced problems, leading to slow internet speeds across the country, state media reports.
According to the operators, a flaw has been discovered on the Intra Asia (IA) cable line and the problem is expected to be resolved by the end of this month.
The incident contributed to Vietnam’s recent internet troubles. Two other submarine cables, the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) and Asia America Gateway (AAG), also experienced problems and are being repaired. The repair of the AAG is expected to be completed by mid-March.
International connectivity in Vietnam relies on multiple submarine cable systems, namely the APG, AAG, IA, SMW3 and Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), according to the Vietnam Internet Association.
The APG cable, officially launched in December 2016, can deliver bandwidths of up to 54 Tbps (Terabit per second). It has a length of about 10,400 km, with connection points in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The 6,800 km long IA cable, which carries data between Vietnam and Europe, North America and South America, started operations in November 2009.
With a length of 20,191 km, the AAG route connects Southeast Asia with the US, according to Vietnam News Agency.
