If your connection has been unbearably slow, hold up and don’t throw a hissy fit just yet. There’s a reason why it’s acting up.
According to Telekom Malaysia (TM), a fault on the Asia America Gateway (AAG) submarine cable system is causing data degradation, affecting Internet users in the Southeast Asian region accessing sites based in the US.
Note: The AAG is a 20,000-kilometre long submarine communications cable system, connecting South-East Asia with the USA mainland, across the Pacific Ocean via Guam and Hawaii.
Source: Lowyat.net
TM didn’t specify the exact fault but the communications company did say that it affects data traffic to and from the US. This means that virtually all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Malaysia will face a similar issue – though TM (Streamyx, Unifi) is the only ISP to have confirmed the issue. So, if Facebook, Twitter, and other US-based sites are loading exceptionally slow, now you know.
Even messaging apps like WhatsApp will see some slowdown in sending and receiving messages.
#TMAlerts 1/2 we are experiencing some degradation of data traffic to and from the US due to a fault on the AAG submarine cable system.
— TMConnects (@TMConnects) September 17, 2014
#TMAlerts 2/2 repairs are underway to repair a fault on the AAG submarine cable system. We will share updates as they become available. — TMConnects (@TMConnects) September 17, 2014
As confirmed by TM, repairs are currently underway to fix the cable but nobody really knows when the repairs will be completed. The fault appears to be located in the cable connecting Vung Tau (a coastal city in southern Vietnam) and Hong Kong, where the incident was recorded to take place at about 11:41pm on Monday (15th September). There’s a high chance that fixing it will be a bit of a challenge considering the fact that Hong Kong is currently facing Typhoon Kalmaegi.
Oh boy. Well, patience is a virtue. Let’s just hope that it gets fixed real quick!
(Source)