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Omantel claims restoring 50pc of Internet traffic

MUSCAT — Thousands of netizens heaved a sigh of relief as Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) said it has restored more than 50 per cent of the Internet traffic yesterday after it had provided four alternative lines to boost telecommunications services following the cut in three undersea cables last Friday as a result of an earthquake that hit Sicily in Italy and Tunisia. An official at Omantel said that the company has stepped up its efforts over the past two days to add four alternative lines for the Internet in the Sultanate to work alongside three other lines that were not affected. He indicated that the company has 16 Internet packages serving the information network, adding that 13 lines were affected during the last few days. He also said that Omantel, in cooperation with several telecom companies in the region, has managed to provide these alternative lines in order to fix the problems in the network.

He added that all other lines would return to normal on December 25 as the company would add three or four other lines to serve subscribers who were affected because of the cut-offs. He added that such a mishap is beyond Omantel’s control, noting that all countries of the world suffered the same problem.

The cut-offs in three undersea cables off north Italy last Friday have snarled Internet traffic all over the world, especially in Europe, North Africa and Gulf countries.

International sources said that Flaj and CMW companies that manage the damaged cables “Flaj, CMW-3 and CMW-4” have already started cable repair works.

Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and Asia were badly affected after the cables were damaged in the Mediterranean Sea. The French telecommunications company France Telecom said that the cut-off, which was located in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Tunisia, was caused by an earthquake.