4 out of 5 undersea cables connecting to Vietnam to the world has been damaged due to reasons unknown as yet, which seriously impact connection speed and reliability.
On January 30, an Internet service provider (ISP) confirmed that, the Inter Asia (Intra Asia – IA) cable had problems since January 28, which was determined to be a cable break at about 130 km from the Singapore, causing all international connection capacity from Vietnam to Singapore via IA.
Previously, the problems with AAE, AAG, APG undersea cable systems, which happened since 2022 and early 2023 have not been fully addressed yet, making it harder for internet providers to ensure the quality of the connections to their consumers.
Vietnam has six submarine cables and an overland system that runs through China namely SMW3, AAG, IA, APG, AAE-1, SJC2, ADC. However, of these, SJC2 and ADC have not been officially put into operation yet. The only line still operating is SMW3 which is an old cable line and is about to be liquidated.
There are 69 million Internet users in the country of 96 million people, according to German data portal Statista.
There are three cable landing sites in Vietnam, and six in-service submarine cable systems connecting Vietnam, two new cables including SJC2 and ADC are under construction.
Cable Landing Stations in Vietnam
VNPT and Viettel are the dominant international submarine cable operators in Vietnam. Viettel has invested in AAG, TGN-IA, APG,AAE-1 and ADC, and hosts the cable landing station in Vietnam for AAE-1 with its US$50 million investment in the AAE-1 cable project.
VNPT Vung Tau Cable Landing Station:
- AAG
- TGN-IA
- TVH (Tailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong)
VNPT Danang Cable Landing Station:
- APG
- C2C
- SEA-ME-WE 3
VNPT Quy Nhon Cable Landing Station: SJC2 (2022)
Viettel Vung Tau Cable Landing Station: AAE-1
Viettel Quy Nhon Cable Landing Station: ADC (2022)