Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain: On 18 March 2011 at 20:48 GMT the Falcon submarine cable service supporting access to the Global Internet and other data services to Bahrain has been disrupted due to a suspected damaged fibre.
The cable is one of the current four diverse physical Telecom routes that connects the Kingdom of Bahrain to the rest of the world and the incident resulted in lower browsing experience during peak hours for some users. The fault was confirmed to be a damaged fiber off the coast of Dubai. Very close to the incident, the cable needed to be maintained due to a shunt problem and both operations have been performed at the same time.
A cable ship was mobilized and reached the fault location on 22 March starting repair operations for an estimate 7 days of work. On 31 March after completion of the initial repair, another problem was identified requiring the ship to move and perform additional work on the cable.
On 3 April around 22:09 GMT the Falcon submarine cable service was restored and the internet services have been confirmed stable after a monitoring period of 24 hours.
Commenting on this incident TRA's Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al Amer said "Diversified access to international connectivity is a key element for the development of the broadband market in Bahrain. Today ISPs are taking advantage of more diverse international connections than ever before. Previous studies affirmed the improvements of connectivity to Bahrain that have occurred during the last 12 months which resulted in a minimal impact during the incident of the Falcon cut of last month. Further improvements for the Kingdom will also occur during 2011 when the two new submarine cables of Tata and GBI become operational."
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About TRA
Since its establishment in 2002 the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain (TRA) has been working with government, consumers, operators and investors to develop the Kingdom of Bahrain into the region's most modern communications hub and to facilitate the growth of the market. As an exemplary Regulator for the region, TRA independently carries out its duties in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. More information about TRA can be viewed at www.tra.org.bh
Media Contact
Abdulelah Abdulla
Communications Manager
Tel: +973 17 520000
Mobile: +973 36368555
Fax: +973 17 532125
Email: aabdulla@tra.org.bh
© Press Release 2011
