By JASON DEAN
December 27, 2006 7:42 p.m.
BEIJING -- A big earthquake near Taiwan disrupted phone and Internet traffic across Asia Wednesday, highlighting the fragility of a global telecommunications system that still relies on vulnerable undersea cables to carry data. The magnitude 6.7 temblor that struck late Tuesday off Taiwan's southern coast cut several fiber-optic cables that carry communications traffic through a key nexus in Asia, connecting Hong Kong and Southeast Asia with Japan and, ultimately, North America.
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International phone service was cut off or restricted in some regions. Internet service slowed to a crawl in much of China, while service to BlackBerries and Bloomberg terminals was temporarily halted in places. Some transactions in currency and other financial markets in the region were disrupted. Companies around the region for the most part said they found ways to work around the disruption. ...
Still, the wide scope of the disruption -- caused by a single natural disaster with limited physical damage -- illustrates how vulnerable the systems are that support the global communications system. Telecom companies said that repairs to the damaged cables could take weeks to complete, although service will improve as companies find alternative ways to deliver service.
Nearly all the data that travels between continents does so over tiny threads of flexible glass, or fiber-optic filaments, that are bundled together and covered in insulation and other protective materials. Companies -- usually consortia of telecom carriers that team up to share costs -- then stretch these cables across thousands of miles of ocean, to rest on the sea floor or float above it.
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More at (sorry, subscription required): WSJ Story - Quake Damages Undersea Cables(If you want to read the entire story, email me and I'll send you one of their story-permission links.)
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