Red Sea fiber optic cable break causes internet disruption in Asia and Middle East

A series of undersea cable failures in the Red Sea have reduced internet connectivity in several countries, including India and Pakistan, Internet access monitoring firm NetBlocks said.

Experts say a ruptured undersea cable in the Red Sea has disrupted internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East on September 7.

The cause of the incident is still unknown.

In a statement, NetBlocks - an Internet access monitoring unit - stated that a series of undersea cable incidents in the Red Sea had reduced Internet connectivity in many countries, including India and Pakistan.

NetBlocks also said the incident affected the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems, near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Microsoft announced on its official website that the Middle East "may experience slow connections due to a broken undersea fiber optic cable in the Red Sea."

Microsoft did not elaborate further, only saying that Internet traffic outside the Middle East was not affected.

Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to the report. Meanwhile, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), internet users on the state-owned Du and Etisalat networks reported slow internet connections.

There have also been concerns that the cables could be targeted by Houthi forces in Yemen to pressure Israel into ending the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

However, Houthi said it had no plans to attack the submarine cable system./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dut-cap-quang-o-bien-do-gay-gian-doan-internet-tai-chau-a-va-trung-dong-post1060396.vnp