Reliance Communications Undersea Cable Snaps Again !

[Honest 836]

Reliance Comm undersea cable snaps again

Business Line l 27 Nov l New Delhi

Cable cut near Spain may have minimal impact on India.

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Split wire

RCom’s FLAG marine team is sending a ship for repairing the cable

The expected time taken for the repair is not known yet

This is the second time this year when an undersea cable developed a snag

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A cut in an undersea cable owned by Reliance Communications has disrupted communication networks in the Gulf region, especially Kuwait. The cut on Reliance’s FEA Cable System happened between Italy and Spain on November 24.

The Internet and telephone traffic between Kuwait and Spain, the UK, the US, Switzerland, Italy and India were affected by the cable cut, according to the local authorities in Kuwait. Kuwaiti communication companies, including Zajil Telecom, Fast Net and Quality Net, were also hit.

The impact on Indian ITeS and BPO units are not known yet. Industry sources said that since there are alternative cable systems in the region the disruption in communication may be minimal.

Mr Rajesh Chharia, President, Internet Service Providers Association of India, said, “There has been no visible impact on India till now. We are still collecting information from the industry but it seems Reliance has learnt from its previous experience earlier this year and has made alternative arrangements.”

Ship being sent

RCom officials confirmed the cable cut. This cut is suspected to be at 8.75 km from Estepona (Spain) on local route between Estepona and Porthcurno-Palermo Segment. RCom’s FLAG marine team is sending a ship for repairing the cable. The expected time taken for the repair is not known yet. This is the second time this year when an undersea cable owned by RCom has developed a snag.

Earlier this year, RCom’s submarine cable system Falcon — connecting five West Asian nations, Indian sub-continent, Sudan and Egypt — was cut, 56 km from Dubai on the segment between the UAE and Oman. This had a major impact on Indian ITeS and BPO units prompting the telecom regulator to step into get other cable owners to provide alternate links.

Reliance had approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India seeking its intervention on the grounds that the other cable operators did not co-operate with it to provide an alternative route. RCom’s main concern was that Bharti Airtel had allegedly sought much higher tariffs than the prevailing market rates for additional bandwidth.