Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) is a 28,000 kilometer long submarine communications cable containing optical fiber that connects the United Kingdom, Japan, and many places in between. The cable is operated by India's Flag Telecom, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications. The system runs from the eastern coast of North America to Japan.[1] Its Europe-Asia segment is the fourth longest[2] 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. The cable was laid by NYNEX.[3]

Contents

[edit] Segments and landing points

Landing points are:

[edit] Segment FLAG Atlantic 1 (FA-1)

[edit] Segment FLAG Alcatel-Lucent Optical Network (FALCON)

[edit] Segment FLAG Europe Asia (FEA)

[edit] Segment FLAG North Asia Loop (FNAL)/Tiger

West of Mumbai, FLAG has a capacity of 80 Gbit/s.

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

[edit] January and February 2008 service disruptions

See also: 2008 submarine cable disruption

On January 30, 2008 internet services were widely disrupted in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent following damage to the SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG cables in the Mediterranean Sea.[4] BBC News Online reported 70% disruption in Egypt and 60% disruption in India[5] Problems were reported in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.[6] 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.[7]

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 near Alexandria.[5][8] According to the AFP, the Kuwaiti government attributes the breaks to "weather conditions and maritime traffic."[9] The New York Times reported that the damage occurred to the two systems separately near Alexandria and near Marseilles.[10] Egypt knew of "no passing ships" near Alexandria which has restricted waters.[11]

One day later, on February 1, 2008, the FALCON cable was also reported cut 56 km off Dubai.[12] [13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wired 4.12: Mother Earth Mother Board
  2. ^ http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Technology/Pix/pictures/2008/02/01/SeaCableHi.jpg
  3. ^ "Mother Earth, Mother Board: The Epic Story of the Wiring of the Planet."
  4. ^ Internet failure hits two continents - CNN.com
  5. ^ a b "Severed cables disrupt Internet", BBC News Online, BBC, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  6. ^ The Associated Press via nytimes.com. "Cable Break Causes Wide Internet Outage", February 1, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-01. 
  7. ^ Zmijewski, Earl (2008-01-30). Mediterranean Cable Break. Renesys Blog. Renesys. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  8. ^ "Cable damage hits Internet connectivity", The Times of India, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  9. ^ "Indian outsourcing sector hit by Internet disruption", AFP, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  10. ^ Timmons, Heather. "2 Communication Cables in the Mediterranean Are Cut", The New York Times, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  11. ^ Brauer, David. "High-tech mystery: Are terrorists behind recent Internet disruptions?", MinnPost.com, MinnPost, February 4, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 
  12. ^ Flag Telecom
  13. ^ Third undersea Internet cable cut in Mideast - CNN.com

[edit] External links

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