Cuts in two international submarine cable systems in the Mediterranean Sea this morning is affecting a number of regional and global telecom operators. UAE’s Etisalat announced that internet traffic in the UAE and International calls have been affected due to the cable breakdown.

Etisalat is working closely with the administration, partners and concerned operators, for urgent repair work to ensure that the links with major global internet hubs are restored at the earliest. The redundant links deployed by Etisalat for such an eventuality has meant that normal Internet browsing and essential traffic will continue to work at reasonable speeds for the company’s customers, it said.

The heavy investment by Etisalat in building a robust network with redundant links to major global Internet hubs in Asia, Europe, and USA, has ensured that the traffic can be re-routed, ensuring that Internet services can remain operational in the UAE, it said. Du, another UAE operator, alerted customers to a degradation in Internet services and international voice calls during peak times.

“We are working actively with the submarine cable system operators (FLAG Telecom and SEA-ME-WE 4) to ascertain the reasons for the cables being cut, and they are working to give affected operators a recovery schedule,” a du statement said. In the meantime, du has already started transferring internet and international voice traffic through other cable systems that have not been affected, although some congestion may be expected at peak times until this issue is resolved, it said.

“We will be keeping our customers updated on progress,” it said. Internet services in Bahrain were also affected.