Cable Breaks Snarl Asian Internet Traffic

HONG KONG, Sept. 24 -- Breaks in two undersea fiber optic cables off the China coast hampered Internet traffic in China last week. The cable breaks, likely caused by a ship's anchor, disrupted Internet service in the region, especially in Australia and Hong Kong, a member of the consortium that owns the cables said. Internet traffic in Singapore also had to be rerouted. The breakages occurred on Thursday morning about 30 km off the coast of Shantou in southern China's Guangdong province. One of the cables connects Hong Kong and Shantou, while the other connects Shantou with Taiwan and Japan, according to Reach, a part-owner of both cables.