Updated
Updated · Light Reading · Aug 31
Viettel Adds 1.1 Tbit/s After 4 Cable Faults Cut Vietnam Internet Capacity 30%
Updated
Updated · Light Reading · Aug 31

Viettel Adds 1.1 Tbit/s After 4 Cable Faults Cut Vietnam Internet Capacity 30%

3 articles · Updated · Light Reading · Aug 31

Summary

  • Four faults across the SJC2, AAE-1, AAG and TGN IA subsea cables have knocked out about 30% of Vietnam’s international internet capacity, causing possible slowdowns on overseas platforms during peak hours.
  • Viettel responded by adding 800 Gbit/s of international capacity via IA and 300 Gbit/s via APG, while rerouting some traffic over a terrestrial link through Laos to Singapore.
  • VNPT also shifted traffic onto remaining routes, and Viettel plans to expand the Laos-Singapore land route by 1.5 Tbit/s by month-end, with more APG capacity due on Aug. 31.
  • TGN IA repairs are expected to begin in early September, but no repair timetable has been disclosed for SJC2, AAE-1 or AAG, and the causes of the outages remain unclear.
  • The disruption echoes a 2024 multi-cable outage that slowed internet nationwide and helped spur Vietnam’s plan to raise its subsea cable count to 15 by 2030.

Insights

Why did four vital subsea internet cables fail simultaneously near Vietnam, and is there a hidden cause behind these undisclosed outages?
Can emergency terrestrial routes through Laos save Vietnam's digital economy while half its oceanic internet arteries remain completely severed?