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Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe

 

 
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Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe
 
 
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Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) is a 28,000-kilometer-long submarine communications cable
Submarine communications cable

A submarine communications cable is a cable laid beneath the sea to carry telecommunications between countries.The first submarine communications cables carried telegraphy traffic....
 containing optical fiber
Optical fiber

An optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers....
 that connects the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, and many places in between. The cable is operated by India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
's Flag Telecom
Flag Telecom

Reliance Globalcom, formerly known as Flag Telecom, is a division of Reliance Communications, manages the Global Telecom operations of India?s largest Integrated Telecom Service Provider....
, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications , along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures . It is an Indian telecommunications company....
. The system runs from the eastern coast of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 to Japan. Its Europe-Asia segment is the fourth longest cable in the world.

The Europe-Asia segment was laid in the mid-1990s and was the subject of an extensive article in Wired Magazine in December, 1996 by Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson

Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer, known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized science fiction, historical fiction, maximalism, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk....
.






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Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) is a 28,000-kilometer-long submarine communications cable
Submarine communications cable

A submarine communications cable is a cable laid beneath the sea to carry telecommunications between countries.The first submarine communications cables carried telegraphy traffic....
 containing optical fiber
Optical fiber

An optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers....
 that connects the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, and many places in between. The cable is operated by India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
's Flag Telecom
Flag Telecom

Reliance Globalcom, formerly known as Flag Telecom, is a division of Reliance Communications, manages the Global Telecom operations of India?s largest Integrated Telecom Service Provider....
, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications , along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures . It is an Indian telecommunications company....
. The system runs from the eastern coast of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 to Japan. Its Europe-Asia segment is the fourth longest cable in the world.

The Europe-Asia segment was laid in the mid-1990s and was the subject of an extensive article in Wired Magazine in December, 1996 by Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson

Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer, known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized science fiction, historical fiction, maximalism, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk....
. The cable was laid by NYNEX
NYNEX

NYNEX Corporation was a telephone company which served five New England states as well as New York. Formed January 1, 1984 as a result of the Bell System Bell System Divestiture, NYNEX was a Regional Bell operating company made up of former AT&T subsidiaries New York Telephone and New England Telephone....
. It should be added that Flag Telecom was listed on the stockmarket during the internet bubble, and that the then Management of Flag did nothing to help the numerous shareholders who had taken part. The value of their shares was reduced to zero a few years later.

Segments and landing points

Landing points
Cable landing point

A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine communications cable and submarine power cables....
 are:

Segment FLAG Atlantic 1 (FA-1)

  • Northport
    Northport, New York

    Northport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 7,606....
    , Suffolk County
    Suffolk County, New York

    Suffolk County is a Political subdivisions of New York State#County located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island....
    , New York
    New York

    The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
    , USA
  • Island Park
    Island Park, New York

    Island Park is a village located in Nassau County, New York, New York in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 4,732....
    , Nassau County
    Nassau County, New York

    Nassau County is a suburban Political subdivisions of New York State#County in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S....
    , New York
    New York

    The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
    , USA
  • Porthcurno
    Porthcurno

    Porthcurno is a small village in the parish of St Levan located in a valley on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately 9 miles to the west of the market town of Penzance and about 3 miles from Land's End, the most westerly point of the English mainland....
    /Skewjack
    Skewjack

    Skewjack Farm is the name of a farm in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated about 1.5 miles east of Land's End on the Great Britain road numbering scheme in the Penwith district....
    , Cornwall
    Cornwall

    Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
    , England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    , UK
  • Plérin
    Plérin

    Pl?rin is a coastal Communes of France in the C?tes-d'Armor Departments of France in Bretagne in northwestern France.Pl?rin is a neighboring commune of Saint-Brieuc, by the English Channel....
    , Côtes-d'Armor
    Côtes-d'Armor

    C?tes-d'Armor is a departments of France in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France....
    , Brittany
    Bretagne

    Bretagne is one of the 26 regions of France of France. It occupies a large peninsula in the northwest of the country, lying between the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south....
    , France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....


Segment FLAG Alcatel-Lucent Optical Network (FALCON)

  • Suez
    Suez

    Suez is a seaport town in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as As Suways Governorate....
    , As Suways Governorate
    As Suways Governorate

    Suez Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt of Egypt. It is in the northeast of the country and is coterminous with the city of Suez. It is situated East of Delta, North of Suez Gulf, and is linked with other Egyptian governorates by main roads and railroads....
    , Egypt
    Egypt

    Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
  • Port Sudan
    Port Sudan

    Port Sudan is the capital of Red Sea State, Sudan and has 489,725 residents . Located on the Red Sea, it is the Republic of Sudan's main port city....
    , Sudan
    Sudan

    Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
  • Jeddah
    Jeddah

    Jeddah is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh....
    , Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
  • Al Hudaydah
    Al Hudaydah

    Al Hudaydah is the fourth largest city in Yemen with a population 400,000 people, and the centre of Al Hudaydah Governorate. The city is also known as Hodeida....
    , Yemen
    Yemen

    Yemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. Yemen has an estimated population of more than 23 million people and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east....
  • Al Ghaydah
    Al Ghaydah

    Al Ghaydah is a capital city of Al Mahrah Governorate, southeastern Yemen. It is located at around ....
    , Yemen
  • Al Seeb, Oman
    Oman

    Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
  • Khasab
    Khasab

    Khasab town is the regional center of Musandam Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. It is located very close to the Strait of Hormuz about 60 km away from Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates....
    , Oman
  • Dubai
    Dubai

    Dubai is one of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates and the most populous city of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula....
    , United Arab Emirates
    United Arab Emirates

    The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia....
  • Sumaisma, Qatar
    Qatar

    Qatar , officially the State of Qatar , is an Arab emirate in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula....
  • Manama
    Manama

    Manama is the capital city and largest city of Bahrain with an approximate population of 155,000 people. Manama has emerged as the capital of independent Bahrain after periods of domination by Portugal and Persians earlier in its history....
    , Bahrain
    Bahrain

    The Kingdom of Bahrain, in , , literally Kingdom of the Two Seas).Bahrain is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa regime....
  • Al Khubar, Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
  • Kuwait City
    Kuwait City

    Kuwait City , is the Capital and largest city of Kuwait. It has an estimated population of 63,600 within city limits and 2.38 million in the metropolitan area....
    , Kuwait
    Kuwait

    The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
  • Thiruvananthapuram
    Thiruvananthapuram

    , Indian renaming controversy known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District....
    , India
  • Hulumalé, Maldives
    Maldives

    The Maldives , or Maldive Islands, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a Atolls of the Maldivess stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago, and about seven hundred kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean....
  • Malé
    Malé

    Mal? , population 104,403 , is the Capital , the largest city in terms of population, and the name of an island in the Maldives. It is located at the southern edge of North Male' Atoll Kaafu Atoll....
    , Maldives
  • Colombo, Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka

    Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....


Segment FLAG Europe Asia (FEA)

  • Porthcurno
    Porthcurno

    Porthcurno is a small village in the parish of St Levan located in a valley on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately 9 miles to the west of the market town of Penzance and about 3 miles from Land's End, the most westerly point of the English mainland....
    /Skewjack
    Skewjack

    Skewjack Farm is the name of a farm in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated about 1.5 miles east of Land's End on the Great Britain road numbering scheme in the Penwith district....
    , Cornwall
    Cornwall

    Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
    , England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    , UK
  • Estepona
    Estepona

    Estepona is a town and municipality in the region of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of M?laga , part of the autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia....
    , Málaga
    Málaga (province)

    The Province of M?laga is located on the southern coast of Spain, in the Autonomous communities in Spain of Andalusia. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the South, and by the Province s of C?diz , Sevilla , C?rdoba Province, Spain and Granada ....
    , Andalusia
    Andalusia

    Andalusia is a country in the Spanish State. It is the most populous and the second largest, in terms of land area, of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Spain....
    , Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
  • Palermo
    Palermo

    Palermo is a historic city in southern Italy, the Capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old....
    , Province of Palermo
    Province of Palermo

    The Province of Palermo is a Provinces of Italy in the autonomous region of Sicily, an island off the coast of Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo....
    , Sicily
    Sicily

    Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
    , Italy
    Italy

    Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
  • Aqaba
    Aqaba

    Aqaba is a coastal town in the far south of Jordan. It is the capital of Aqaba Governorate. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport....
    , Aqaba Governorate
    Aqaba Governorate

    Aqaba is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south of Amman, capital of Jordan. Its capital is Aqaba.Aqaba, the port at the Red Sea, plays an important role in the economic life of Jordan and has many attractions to offer the vacationer....
    , Jordan
    Jordan

    Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
  • Alexandria
    Alexandria

    Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
    , Al Iskandariyah Governorate
    Al Iskandariyah Governorate

    Alexandria governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt of Egypt, located in the north of the country, lying directly on the Mediterranean Sea which makes it one of the most important harbours in Egypt....
    , Egypt
  • Suez
    Suez

    Suez is a seaport town in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as As Suways Governorate....
    , As Suways Governorate
    As Suways Governorate

    Suez Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt of Egypt. It is in the northeast of the country and is coterminous with the city of Suez. It is situated East of Delta, North of Suez Gulf, and is linked with other Egyptian governorates by main roads and railroads....
    , Egypt
  • Jeddah
    Jeddah

    Jeddah is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh....
    , Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia
  • Fujairah
    Fujairah

    Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country's east instead of Persian Gulf ....
    , United Arab Emirates
  • Mumbai
    Mumbai

    Mumbai— formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper has approximately 14 million people and, along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, Mumbai forms the World's largest urban agglomerations according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report with around 19...
    , Maharashtra, India
  • Penang
    Penang

    Penang is a States of Malaysia in Malaysia, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. Penang is the second smallest state in Malaysia after Perlis, and the eighth most populous....
    , Malaysia
    Malaysia

    Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
    , meeting SAFE
    SAFE (cable system)

    The South Africa Far East cable is an optical fiber submarine communications cable linking Melkbosstrand, South Africa to Penang, Malaysia.It was commissioned in 2002 and built by Tyco Submarine Systems of the USA with an initial capacity of 10 Gigabits per second, which is upgradeable to 130 Gigabits per second....
     and SEA-ME-WE 3
    SEA-ME-WE 3 (cable system)

    SEA-ME-WE 3 or South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 is an fiber optics submarine communications cable linking those regions and is the longest in the world, completed in late 2000....
  • Satun
    Satun

    Satun is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Satun Province. It covers the whole tambon Phiman of Amphoe Mueang Satun. As of 2005 it has a population of 21,498....
    , Satun Province
    Satun Province

    Satun is one of the southern Provinces of Thailand of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Trang Province, Phatthalung Province and Songkhla Province....
    , Thailand
    Thailand

    The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
  • Songkhla
    Songkhla

    Songkhla is a city in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. As of 2006 it had a population of 75,048. The city is a part of Greater Hatyai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area....
    , Songkhla province
    Songkhla Province

    Songkhla is the one of the southern Provinces of Thailand of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Satun Province, Phatthalung Province, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Pattani Province and Yala Province....
    , Thailand
  • Silvermine Bay, Lantau Island
    Lantau Island

    Lantau Island, also Lantao, based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River ....
    , Hong Kong
    Hong Kong

    Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
  • Nanhui
    Nanhui District

    Nanhui District , formerly Nanhui County, is a district of Shanghai. It has a land area of about 809.5 km? and 59.5 kilometers coastline....
    , Shanghai
    Shanghai

    Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
  • Keoje
    Geoje

    Geoje is a Administrative divisions of South Korea located in South Gyeongsang province, just off the coast of the port city of Busan, South Korea....
    , South Gyeongsang Province
    Gyeongsangnam-do

    Gyeongsangnam-do is a Administrative divisions of South Korea in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon....
    , South Korea
    South Korea

    South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
  • Ninomiya
    Ninomiya, Kanagawa

    is a towns of Japan located in Naka District, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.Ninomiya literally means "the second shrine" of the old provinces of Japan....
    , Kanagawa Prefecture
    Kanagawa Prefecture

    is a prefectures of Japan located in the southern Kanto region of Honshu, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area....
    , Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
  • Miura, Kanagawa
    Miura, Kanagawa

    is a cities of Japan located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.It is a city bordering the sea. It is well known for Miura Marathon which is normally held in March First Week....
    , Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan


Segment FLAG North Asia Loop (FNAL)/Tiger

  • Tong Fuk
    Tong Fuk

    Tong Fuk is a village and an area on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It is a popular place for holiday recreation. Tong Fuk Beach in a bay south is a local attraction and visitors rent village houses for leisure....
    , Lantau Island
    Lantau Island

    Lantau Island, also Lantao, based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River ....
    , Hong Kong
  • Toucheng
    Toucheng, Yilan

    Toucheng is a township in the northern coast of Yilan County, Taiwan, Taiwan.* Area: 100.89 square kilometre* Population: 31,517 people ...
    , Yilan County, Taiwan
  • Pusan
    Busan

    Busan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest seaport city in South Korea. Busan has a population of 3.65 million and is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul....
    , South Korea
  • Wada
    Wada, Chiba

    Wada is a towns of Japan located in Awa District, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 5,588 and a population density of 172.20 persons per km?....
    , Awa District
    Awa District, Chiba

    Awa is a districts of Japan located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.As of the 2003 data but counting the decrease due to Amatsukominato merging into Kamogawa, the district had an estimated population of 55,589 and a population density of 202 persons per km?....
    , Chiba Prefecture
    Chiba Prefecture

    is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba, Chiba....
    , Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....


West of Mumbai, FLAG has a capacity of 80 Gbit
Gigabit

Gigabit is a unit of Computer data storage, with the symbol Gbit .1 gigabit = 109 = 1,000,000,000 bits The gigabit is closely related to the gibibit, which is unambiguously equal to 230 bits = 1,073,741,824 bits....
/s.

The segment between Hong Kong and Pusan was broken by the 2006 Hengchun earthquake
2006 Hengchun earthquake

The 2006 Hengchun earthquake occurred on Tuesday December 26 2006 at 12:25 UTC , with an epicenter off the southwest coast of Taiwan, approximately 22.8 km west southwest of Hengchun, Pingtung County, Taiwan, with an exact hypocenter 21.9 km deep in the Luzon Strait , which connects the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea....
.

Service Disruptions


January and February 2008

On January 30, 2008, internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 and in the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 following damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG cables in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
. BBC News Online
BBC News Online

BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
 reported 70% disruption in Egypt and 60% disruption in India Problems were reported in Bahrain
Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain, in , , literally Kingdom of the Two Seas).Bahrain is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa regime....
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
, Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
, Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
, Qatar
Qatar

Qatar , officially the State of Qatar , is an Arab emirate in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
 and United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia....
. The respective contributions of the two cable systems to this blackout is unclear. Network outage graphs suggest that the two breaks occurred at 0430 and 0800 UTC.

The cause of the damage has not been declared by either cable operator, but a number of news sources speculate that the damage was caused by a ship's anchor
Anchor

An anchor is an object, often made out of metal, that is used to attach a ship to the bottom of a body of water at a specific point. There are two primary classes of anchors?temporary and permanent....
 near Alexandria
Alexandria

Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
. According to the AFP
Agence France-Presse

Agence France-Presse is the oldest news agency in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest France news agency....
, the Kuwaiti government
Politics of Kuwait

The government of Kuwait consists of a parliamentary system constitutional monarchy, whereby the List of emirs of Kuwait is the head of government....
 attributes the breaks to "weather conditions and maritime traffic." The New York Times reported that the damage occurred to the two systems separately near Alexandria and near Marseilles. Egypt knew of "no passing ships" near Alexandria which has restricted waters.

One day later, on February 1, 2008, the FALCON
FALCON (cable system)

FALCON is a submarine communications cable connecting India and several countries in the Persian Gulf. The cable is operated by India's Flag Telecom, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications....
 cable was also reported cut 56 km off Dubai.

December 2008

On December 19, 2008 internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 and in the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 following damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4, SEA-ME-WE 3 and FLAG FEA cables in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
.

It is not known what has caused these multiple breaks, however there was seismic activity in the Malta area shortly before the breaks were identified, although it is thought that the damage may be due to a ship's anchor or trawler net.

According to FEA Cable System of Reliance Globalcom, the failure lay between Alexandria
Alexandria

Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
 and Palermo
Palermo

Palermo is a historic city in southern Italy, the Capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old....
. Reliance Globalcom completed the repair on the FLAG EUROPE ASIA (FEA) cable on December 29, 2008, at 14:15 GMT. Customer services that were affected due to the cable cut have been restored to normalcy with the completion of repairs.

External links

  • (February 5, 2008)