Concerns about undersea fiber optic cables.

SGGP 19/02/2023 08:30

It is undeniable that socio- economic activities and governance at all levels now depend on the internet and telecommunications technology. Without new, rapid, and large-scale investments, crises such as severed undersea fiber optic cables and loss of international connectivity will continue.

Currently, Vietnamese telecommunications companies are involved in operating five international submarine fiber optic cables: Asia America Gateway (AAG), Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), SMW3 (also known as SEA-ME-WE3), Intra Asia (IA), and Asia-Africa-Euro 1 (AAE-1). Recently, except for SMW3, the other four cables experienced problems, with APG completely losing connectivity.

The aforementioned incidents disrupted approximately 75% of Vietnam's international connections, and the early days of February marked a "crisis" in Vietnam's international internet connectivity. After the Ministry of Information and Communications established a steering committee to coordinate and resolve the issues, the "crisis" gradually subsided, international network connections stabilized, and network outages were largely eliminated.

Following directives from the Ministry of Information and Communications, network operators have been providing support and sharing traffic with each other. Specifically, Viettel has shared 100Gbps of international internet connectivity with VNPT. In addition, network operators have increased their purchases of international connectivity capacity via terrestrial fiber optic cable systems.

Along with the five aforementioned submarine fiber optic cables, Viettel is also operating two terrestrial fiber optic cables: the Vietnam-China and Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia routes, to ensure connectivity options. VNPT also has the CSC terrestrial fiber optic cable connecting Lang Son to China. These are backup systems of Viettel and VNPT, which have been utilized to their fullest potential. Viettel and VNPT have also participated in alliances to invest in the construction of two new submarine cables, SJC2 and ADC.

These two submarine fiber optic cables are expected to be completed and put into operation this year. These two cables utilize the latest technologies, therefore their capacity and cost are likely to be better than existing submarine cables. Once these new cables are operational, Vietnam's dependence on current submarine cables will decrease.

Over the years, Vietnam's internet infrastructure has developed rapidly and is gradually improving, but it remains at a low level compared to many countries in the region. Specifically, Vietnam's international internet connectivity mainly relies on five undersea fiber optic cables.

The three land-based connections, as well as VNPT's Vinasat satellite system, are only backup options, to be used in emergencies. Meanwhile, Singapore has 30 undersea fiber optic cables, Malaysia has 22, and Thailand has 10.

According to several domestic internet service providers, Vietnam's current infrastructure is insufficient to serve subscribers in the long term. When cable breaks occur, some service providers face difficulties due to insufficient backup infrastructure; meanwhile, user demand is increasing steadily, with an average annual increase of 30%, making the expansion of international undersea fiber optic cables a necessary solution.

It can be confirmed that in 2023, Vietnam will have 7 international undersea fiber optic cables, but that is still not enough; more are needed. In addition, along with purchasing additional international connection capacity on existing terrestrial fiber optic cables, investment in and construction of new international terrestrial fiber optic cables is necessary.

This is primarily the responsibility of telecommunications providers, along with the decisive actions of the Ministry of Information and Communications and other relevant agencies. The disruption of undersea fiber optic cables has occurred frequently over the years.

Meanwhile, it is undeniable that socio-economic activities and governance at all levels now depend on the internet and telecommunications technology. Without new, rapid, and large-scale investments, crises related to severed undersea fiber optic cables and loss of international connectivity will continue.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/noi-lo-cap-quang-bien-post679249.html