Cable break causes Internet chaos

A Telkom cable break in the Gauteng region is causing slow throughput and downtime formany broadband users.

Telkom said that the cable break – an underground 144 optic fibre cable – occurred 1.83kms from Telkom’s Halfway House exchange.  This cable break was caused by “contract personnel working in the vicinity” of the underground optic fibre cable.

Telkom said that links to certain Mobile Cellular Operators have been affected by the break.  This is confirmed by feedback from Vodacom and iBurst.

Vodacom has informed consumers that some subscribers will be affected by the Telkom network problems and that a few Vodacom sites in the area of the cable break are down.

iBurst said that their network has been directly influenced by the cable break, and despite re-routing the traffic many users may still experience intermittent connectivity problems and high latency.

Telkom said that it anticipates that the estimated time of recovery will be after 17:00. “Our technicians are currently busy with the repair and restoration process on site while personnel at the NNOC are currently diverting call traffic, where possible, to alternate cable routes,” said Ajith Bridgraj, Telkom’s Senior Specialist for Media Relations.

Telkom cable break discussion