(1 February 2008 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd has restored a majority of its IP connectivity into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region within 24 hours of the Egypt cable breakdown on Thursday.

On 30 January 2008, the SEA-ME-WE 4 and other undersea cables were severed off the coast of Egypt. These cables serve as the principal Internet connections between the Middle East and westward on to Europe and North America. The same cables also connect the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia.

The cable breakdown resulted in degraded Internet service to and from the Middle East.

"Our cable layout and design allowed us to survive a double cable failure as well as develop enough capacity eastward across the Pacific for the Internet to reach North America and Europe," avers VSNL MENA MD Radwan Mousalli.