Vietnam’s notorious internet cable leaves surfers adrift at sea

Vietnam’s internet speed slowed on January 8 following problems with the notorious cable that connects the country with the US, local media reported, quoting internet provider VNPT Vinaphone.

This is the first time that the Asia America Gateway (AAG) has been disrupted this year following several ruptures last year.

The disruption was triggered by a problem off the southern town of Vung Tau, VNPT Vinaphone said, without saying when it will be fixed.

Internet LAN cables are pictured in this photo illustration taken in Sydney. Photo by Reuters/Tim Wimborne

Vietnamese service providers have been trying to ease their reliance on the AAG in recent years. The 20,000-kilometer system, installed in 2009, has broken or been shut down for maintenance many times since 2011.

A new undersea cable costing US$450 million connecting Vietnam with neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region was officially fired up on January 3, promising internet speed twice as fast.

However, the new cable has already experienced a number of issues, prompting operators to conduct maintenance work only a few days after it opened.

The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) Submarine Cable linking Japan with Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam took four years to complete.

NEC, a Japanese IT corporation, finished construction of the cable last November. The cable, with a total length of around 10,900 kilometers, passes through Vietnam’s central city of Danang.