Telecommunication operators and Internet users need to wait longer to get normal access as the authority said Tuesday the damage on undersea cables caused by earthquake last month is more serious than previous estimated.

 

According to the latest estimation Tuesday by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) of Hong Kong, the quake damage on cables is more serious than the preliminary survey and therefore the repair work on one of the major cables will need about two weeks instead of the previous estimation of one week.

 

It said the Taiwan earthquake on Dec. 26 caused damage on about 300 kilometers seabed, breaking six undersea cables from Hong Kong to Europe and North America that threatened the telecommunication network to paralyze.

 

The authority said repair teams on the spot are trying to resume the work of the cable system and at the same time to enlarge the load of the only cable survived the earthquake to ease the demand of telecommunication.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2007)