Cable cuts threaten UAE internet services, says du

The UAE telecoms company du has warned that its internet service could be affected due to the cutting of two undersea cables.

The company said "possible degradation of internet services" could be felt in the UAE due to the incidents.

"The cable cut may affect some Internet users who may witness degradation in internet speed as we expect some slowness especially in peak times," it added.

According to du, two submarine cables were damaged yesterday. "The first is located in Suez (Egypt)... and the second is located between Chennai and Singapore," du said.

The incidents, or the cause behind the damage to the cables, could not immediately be confirmed by The National.

Du said it was working to address the problem.

"We would like to assure our customers that we have taken immediate action to ease the situation by re-routing our traffic over multiple alternative cable systems to reduce the impact of the cable cuts," du said in a statement sent to The National.

"According to cable operators, [the] repair process has already started and performance is expected to go back to normal levels within the coming few days."

The UAE has been hit by several instances of disruption to internet services because of damaged undersea internet cables.

A severed cable earlier this year disrupted services across the Gulf, with about 30 per cent of the internet capacity offered by du affected.