AAG submarine cable was cut again on April 23, slowing down Internet connectivity. — Photo infonet.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The management centre of the Asia America Gateway (AAG) submarine cable said a segment of the cable from HCM City to Hong Kong was cut on April 23.

The centre is working to spot the cut section.

The break in the cable has slowed down Internet connectivity between Viet Nam and other countries. After the cut was discovered, Vietnamese Internet service providers began operating via other cables to ensure net connectivity for customers.

FPT Telecom said it has transferred its Internet operations to mainland cables to maintain normal Internet operations for users.

It could take about two to four weeks to fix the severed cable, depending on the weather, experts said.

This is the second time the AAG cable has been cut this year. It was cut in January about 117km off the southern coastal province of Vung Tau. It took two weeks to fix the cable.

AAG, one of four intercontinental Internet cable systems of Viet Nam and so far the largest, is used by major local providers FPT Telecom, VNPT, Viettel and SPT.

The 20,000km-long AAG cable was repaired three times last year.

The cable can get damaged due to several reasons such as shark bites or ships' anchors.

The cable was put into use in November 2009, directly connecting Southeast Asia and the United States. It could also link Southeast Asia with Europe, Australia and Africa. — VNS