This is a great news. We all know how things got so bad in July this year.
Best regards
Second Internet undersea cable to be ready in a couple of weeks.
By Imran Ayub
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005\12\11\story_11-12-2005_pg5_7
KARACHI: The second undersea fibre link is set to connect the country with rest of the world in about a week as the Pakistan Telecommunication Company enters into final testing of the $500 million project.
A senior official said technicians were in final stages of testing the undersea cable called South East Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe-4 and formal launch of the project was expected in the third week of December.
“We have almost finalised testing of the cable,” Junaid I Khan, PTCL president, told the Daily Times. “It is early to suggest any date, but I think we would be able to launch its operations by Dec 18-19.”
He said the company had estimated that by this December the project would be completed and the organisations concerned had done their job within the stipulated time.
The PTCL in September 2002 signed a memorandum of understanding with 12 other international telecom carriers to jointly in work on the construction of the new undersea fibre cable link – SEAMEWE-4.
The cable network would connect 12 countries, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysian, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy and France.
“The estimated cost of the project is $500 million,” said Mr Khan. “The PTCL bore almost five percent of the total cost as per its consumption and share in the project.”
He said the telecom consortium had estimated 18 months for the completion of the project and it was about to enable Pakistan to get the second undersea fibre link within the next few days.
Pakistan’s Internet and other telecom links with the rest of the world had severed on June 27 following a fault in a key submarine cable that took 11 days to repair.
Now the country’s has only a single undersea fibre cable called SEAMEWE-3. However, it faced one of the worst crises, when Pakistan’s Internet and other telecom links with the rest of the world had severed on June 27.
Millions of people were affected by the breakdown in the main fibre-optic link under the Arabian Sea, 10 kilometres south of Karachi. The complex repair work forced a complete shutdown, potentially causing disruption in India and the UAE, which were also linked to the damaged cable. But now the telecom authorities seem confident that the crisis would not happen again.
“The SEAWEME-4 would make country’s telecom system safe enough and as per international standards, which is essential in technologically modern time,” said the PTCL chief. “It is necessary to have at least two undersea fibre links. We committed to get the second one by the end of 2005 and now it is a matter of a few days for its materialization.”