Seacom could be shut down?

[gdx]

Did anyone see this interview with Aidan Baigrie of Seacom today?

Worryingly, he says, "With unrest rising in the Middle East and North Africa, there is a real possibility that governments could approach Seacom and ask it to shut down the cable."

Why would he say that?

 

[Peon]

Above and beyond seacom, what is eassy doing?

 

[BigCheez]

Above and beyond seacom, what is eassy doing?

Do keep up... it looks as though they've been pretty busy selling to Afrihost, Neology and Web Africa. Voda, Telkom and MTN are all in eassy too.

 

[BrokenLink]

Unlikely i think, freedom of expression, hence internet, is heavily supported by the 'west', they did shut down facebook in pakistan if i recall correctly for a few weeks, but shutting down seacom wont happen imho. Apart from some dictator chopping up the line physicly i dont see seacom giving up revenue to support them. As with other nations that had unrest they took measures to control the isp`s and cellphone networks, that would probably happen before taking down seacom. also for short times, e.g. to stop mass gatherings when tensions are high.

 

[Valerion]

Unlikely i think, freedom of expression, hence internet, is heavily supported by the 'west', they did shut down facebook in pakistan if i recall correctly for a few weeks, but shutting down seacom wont happen imho. Apart from some dictator chopping up the line physicly i dont see seacom giving up revenue to support them. As with other nations that had unrest they took measures to control the isp`s and cellphone networks, that would probably happen before taking down seacom. also for short times, e.g. to stop mass gatherings when tensions are high.

Maybe not willingly ... but then there was this:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703956604576110453371369740.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...8288163/How-Egypt-shut-down-the-internet.html

 

[MickeyD]

Thread title is a tad misleading. It is a portion of the onward connectivity around the Middle East and Egypt that is the problem, not the entire Seacom cable.

 

[Peon]

Do keep up... it looks as though they've been pretty busy selling to Afrihost, Neology and Web Africa. Voda, Telkom and MTN are all in eassy too.

I meant in regards to increased caps and reducing prices. Eish....

 

[BigCheez]

I meant in regards to increased caps and reducing prices. Eish....

Seacom and eassy are getting a lot of stick in this forum, but that's an ISP issue - don't blame the submarine systems. The cost of international capacity, which is where the submarine systems are influential, has fallen dramatically, but its just one component.

Eish....!

 

[J0n0]

I tend to stay off news sites and the media as much as i can when it comes to 1st April.