Four out of six subsea cables connecting Vietnam with the rest of Asia are out of service after developing issues over the past few months, according to local reports. This has caused widespread internet disruptions across the country although these have been alleviated by backup infrastructure.
Vietnam is linked by six subsea fiber-optic cable systems – AAG, IA, AAE-1, APG, ADC and SJC2. Since 2022, Vietnam has experienced an average of 10 incidents a year, according to local reports. Repairs can take several months up to a year.
The latest disruption occurred last week affecting the SJC2 cable which connects Vietnam to other parts of Asia. A segment near Hong Kong has developed a fault.
Since February, the AAE-1 cable has been out of service and has yet to be repaired.
The Asia-America Gateway (AAG), which connects Southeast Asia with the U.S., and the Intra Asia (IA) cable are also experiencing issues, with repairs expected to start early September.
Local internet service providers have been balancing loads, rerouting traffic and adding capacity through other connections to minimize the downtime. Vietnam’s international internet traffic is mostly routed through subsea fiber-optic cables.
However, internet services generally remain stable as they are supported by backup infrastructure, according to network provider VNPT. It would only be “somewhat affected” during peak hours, it reportedly said.
Viettel meanwhile reportedly said it has added 800 Gbps of international connectivity via the IA cable last week, as well as 300 Gbps through the Asia Pacific Gateway. It has also rerouted some international traffic through a terrestrial cable running via Laos to Singapore, and plans to add another 1.5 Tbps of capacity on that route.
Viettel added it could increase capacity on its Asia Direct Cable (ADC) to 50 Tbps, if needed, to “handle all international Internet traffic.” The new ADC links Vietnam with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.
Last year, Vietnam launched its first VSTN terrestrial fiber optic cable and has approved trials of satellite internet services. In August, it licensed Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite internet services in Vietnam, becoming the first company to do so. The government hopes these measures would reduce its dependence on subsea cables and help alleviate the frequent disruptions.