Fibre optic cable being loaded onto a ship

Subsea cables are often damaged by ship’s anchors and seismic activity

Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have been seriously disrupted after submarine cables were severed.

It is thought the FLAG FEA, SMW4, and SMW3 lines, near the Alexandria cable station in Egypt, have all been cut.

A fault was also reported on the GO submarine cable 130km off Sicily.

Experts warned that it may be days before the fault is fixed and said the knock on effect could have serious repercussions on regional economies.

For this to happen twice in one year, on the same cable, is a serious cause for concern.
Jonathan Wright, Interoute

Jonathan Wright – director of wholesale products at Interoute which manages part of the optical fibre network – told the BBC that the effects of the break would be felt for many days.”This will grind economies to a halt for a short space of time,” he said “If you look at, say, local financial markets who trade with European and US markets, the speed at which they get live data will be compromised.”

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