Internet users across Asia saw a glimmer of light at the end of a digital black hole yesterday as slow surfing speeds gradually improved four days after an earthquake cut them off from the Web.
Telephone and Internet traffic throughout the region was severely disrupted when key undersea communication cables were damaged in a 7.1-magnitude temblor off the coast of Taiwan on Tuesday, which killed two people.
Millions were left pining for their e-mail and clutching unresponsive telephones, but moves to circumvent the damage by funneling data through alternative routes appeared to ease the region's communication woes yesterday.
Hong Kong's telecommunications authority yesterday said that Internet access, though slower than normal, had improved.
Repair ships have laid anchor above the snapped undersea cables, but the authority has warned that fixing the damage might take longer than the five to seven days originally anticipated.
Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority said Internet connectivity was almost back to normal in the city-state.
"Online surfing returned largely back to normal for Internet users in Singapore on Friday afternoon," it said in a statement, after data was rerouted through alternative cable systems.
Chinese connections to popular overseas Internet sites remained sluggish yesterday.
An official with China Netcom said it was working to improve the situation. The company said on Friday that it expected the situation to be nearly back to normal in a few days.
The disruption has affected millions of Chinese Internet users, highlighting their growing dependence on popular Web-based services such as MSN instant messaging, state media reported.
An online survey by China's lead-ing news portal, Sina.com, found that at least half of China's 15 million MSN users were cut off from the social communication tool.
CAT Telecom, Thailand's communications authority, said connections remained slow in the country, adding that heavy traffic over the holiday weekend as people sent out New Year's greetings could mean slower links.
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