Cable cut may slow internet

Du internet subscribers could be affected by damage to an underwater cable

ABU DHABI // Damage to an underwater cable may affect internet users in the UAE, the telecommunication provider Du warned yesterday.

Du cautioned that its customers across the region could be affected by a submarine cable cut that occurred on Wednesday.

"Du would like to assure its customers that it has taken immediate action to ease the situation by re-routing its traffic over other available links," the company said in a statement.

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But customers would face bandwidth degradation and longer connection times, the telecommunication provider warned.

"Performance is expected to go back to more normal levels within the coming few days according to the cable operators," the company added.

Du said it was working with the concerned parties to ensure a quicker resolution of the issue, adding that the situation was not under its control.

"Du apologises for any inconvenience caused," the statement added, "and is committed to … restore capacity performance to the normal levels."

Similar damage in the Mediterranean in April last year took a week to be fixed.

Du said at the time its internet service was not affected by that cable break because the company only used that cable, Sea-ME-We 4, for only a small percentage of its internet bandwidth.