Telecommunication operators and Internet users need to wait
longer to get normal access as the authority said Tuesday the
damage on undersea cables caused by earthquake last month is more
serious than previous estimated.
According to the latest estimation Tuesday by the Office of the
Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) of Hong Kong, the quake damage
on cables is more serious than the preliminary survey and therefore
the repair work on one of the major cables will need about two
weeks instead of the previous estimation of one week.
It said the Taiwan earthquake on Dec. 26 caused damage on about
300 kilometers seabed, breaking six undersea cables from Hong Kong
to Europe and North America that threatened the telecommunication
network to paralyze.
The authority said repair teams on the spot are trying to resume
the work of the cable system and at the same time to enlarge the
load of the only cable survived the earthquake to ease the demand
of telecommunication.
(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2007)