Ship Crashes Internet for 75 Million People

Photos

Ship Crashes Internet for 75 Million People

see larger image

uploaded by unofficialsquaw.com

• 

  uploaded by unofficialsquaw.com | add comment

• 

  uploaded by Jordan Yerman | add comment

Story found via gCaptain's Maritime News Discoverer;

A
flotilla of ships may have been dispatched to reinstate the broken
submarine cable that has left the Middle East and India struggling to
communicate with the rest of the world, but it took just one vessel to
inflict the damage that brought down the internet for millions.

According to reports, the internet blackout, which has left 75
million people with only limited access, was caused by a ship that
tried to moor off the coast of Egypt in bad weather on Wednesday. Since
then phone and internet traffic has been severely reduced across a huge
swath of the region, slashed by as much as 70% in countries including
India, Egypt and Dubai.

While tens of millions have been directly affected, the impact of
the blackout has spread far wider, with economies across Asia and the
Middle East struggling to cope. Governments have also become directly
involved, with the Egyptian communications ministry imploring surfers
to stay offline so business traffic can take priority. “People who
download music and films are going to affect businesses who have more
important things to do,” said ministry spokesman Mohammed Taymur. Continue Reading At The Guardian…