Announcement to Batelco Customers
Batelco Works to Improve Internet Service following
Cable Damage
Batelco would like to inform customers that work is in progress to restore internet and international phone services following damage to three international cables on December 19th. The cables, Flag and SEA-ME-WE 3 & SEA-ME-WE 4, which are located in the Mediterranean, were cut, leading to slower browsing speeds to international locations. Local browsing in Bahrain remains undisturbed.
The incident took place 1,861 kilometers from Alexandria Cable Station in Northern Egypt going towards Palermo in Italy. As a result of the damage, all Batelco traffic and services on this particular route are temporarily affected. Interruptions to services are being experienced not just in Bahrain but in countries across the MENA region, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt.
Batelco immediately formed a dedicated ‘Code Red’ team, led by General Manager Networks & IT Ebrahim Zainal, responsible for maintaining Batelco telecommunications services. The team will continue to be available 24/7 to monitor the traffic flow while restoring the main International links.
“Fortunately, Batelco is not dependent on these damaged links alone. We have many alternative internet service providers and we are working full speed ahead to restore crucial services via alternative links,” explained Batelco General Manager Media & Government Relations Ahmed Al Janahi.
“At least 60% of all internet traffic has been restored at this stage”.
To minimise the impact on services, it is recommended that customers give more priority to applications like browsing and email, which consume relatively less bandwidth than other applications such as file sharing which normally requires more bandwidth per user.
“We want to assure our customers that repair work is already underway by the providers and it is anticipated that full services will be resumed by December 27th” he said.
“We regret any inconvenience to customers due to this international problem and appreciate their cooperation and understanding while the repair work is being completed,” he concluded.
