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IP: Cyber surfers caught by fishing nets: [risks] Risks Digest 21.30
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 05:19:35 -0500
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 15:20:56 -0800 From: Tin Tin <onuj23 () juno com> Subject: Cyber surfers caught by fishing netsFrom : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/Cyber surfers caught by fishing nets, AFP, 22 Mar 2001 China's Internet links with the US are threatened by the anchor nets used by the country's fishing industry. *The Shanghai Daily* reported on 21 Mar 2001 that fishing equipment had snagged underwater cables off the coast of Shanghai three times in the past two months, causing havoc for millions of Net surfers. And officials fear the problem could worsen, the paper said. China's main fishing season has just begun and industry officials say they lack sufficient legal power to stop further damage, the report added. The problem centres on a type of fishing net developed in South Korea that uses anchors sunk into the seabed. Strong tides can drag the anchors -- which are sunk lower into the seabed than Internet cables, for distances of up to 8km -- severing communications links. Anchor nets are due to be phased out by 2006, but China's Ministry of the Information Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, which regulate the Internet and fishing industry, are still working on an interim solution. For the next three months, however, authorities in Shanghai can do little but increase patrol boats in the cable areas to warn fishermen away, and industry officials warn that may not be sufficient to prevent a severe breakdown in communications. The first serious break occurred on 9 Feb 2001 about 370km off China's coast, severing the main Internet link between China and the US. Although communications were partially restored during a repair process that stretched over two weeks, 22.5 million customers, including many in Shanghai, suffered slow service, the paper reported. On 9 Mar, the Internet backbone linking Taiwan and Shanghai was cut by a fishing net about 120km south of the city, affecting four million users. When that split was finally repaired on 19 Mar, authorities found another break in the undersea cable that will disrupt Internet services for a further two weeks. Each break costs about six million UN ($1.4 million) to repair, in addition to unknown business losses resulting from the Internet disruptions.
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- IP: Cyber surfers caught by fishing nets: [risks] Risks Digest 21.30 David Farber (Mar 27)