The repair work of the three severed Internet cables is still underway. Because of the complications involved in the severed cables the repair work requires one more week from now before the services are fully back to normal, Saad A. Demyati, Vice President Wholesale Sector, Saudi Telecom Company, told Saudi Gazette on Monday. Speaking from Cairo, Demyati however said the Internet services in Saudi Arabia were never affected because of the availability of alternative routes. The STC clients in Saudi Arabia are using full load Internet services, “rather the load is 20 percent more than the capacity,” he said. There might be some slowing down in the speed but the clients are using the services full to their capacity, he added. “No sector or no part in Saudi Arabia was affected following the cut in the submarine cables,” he said categorically. Asked why there has been delay in the repair work, which as per the earlier plan was to be completed by Dec. 26, Demyati said it was due to some technical problems and also because of different parties and owners involved in the system. But he added that everything was under control and going as per the plan. Demyati said last week that the repair work would be finished by Dec. 26 and all the Internet services will be back to normalcy. Breaks in submarine cables which link Europe and the Middle East on Dec. 18 have impeded Internet and international telephone services in parts of Mideast and South Asia. The STC official said he was not aware if the consumers have difficulty in accessing the Internet through their PCs by manual dial up connection. “What I know is that all STC clients are using the Internet services despite the ongoing repair work,” he said.
