Vietnam's internet infrastructure is facing significant challenges once again as two major undersea cables, APG and IA, experienced simultaneous issues just days after the AAE-1 cable was successfully repaired. This situation has left many users struggling with intermittent connectivity, leading to complaints of slow internet speeds and frequent disconnections. On January 3, 2025, frustration among internet users was palpable as reports of weak connections flooded social media, affecting both work and daily activities.
Following the completion of repairs on the AAE-1 cable on December 31, 2024, troubles emerged when the IA cable encountered problems on December 26, affecting bandwidth to Hong Kong and Singapore. Meanwhile, the APG cable experienced faults on segments S1.9, which connects Vietnam to Malaysia, and S8, linking to Thailand. While corrections on the S8 segment are expected to take place between January 6 and January 10, 2025, the timeline for resolving issues on S1.9 remains uncertain.
According to the VietNamNet news outlet, internet service providers (ISPs) have initiated contingency plans to minimize the impact of these outages and maintain service quality for international internet access. Many ISPs reported the challenges they are facing due to the simultaneous failures of two of the five existing international undersea cables.
Lee Ba Tan, the technical lead at Viettel, commented on the broader issue at the "Commercializing 5G, Applications in Smart Industry" seminar held on December 26, 2024. He stressed the importance of resilient infrastructure, pointing out the vulnerabilities of Vietnam's international undersea cables, which he referred to as weaknesses. “We have seen the frailty of some undersea cables, and repair times have extended compared to before,” he said.
Vietnam is among the countries most impacted by undersea cable disruptions, averaging about 15 incidents annually across the cables it operates. Historically, these outages—particularly when multiple cables fail simultaneously—can lead to dramatic reductions in international connectivity, sometimes up to 75% as seen back in February 2023 when all five cables failed at once.
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has recognized the chronic issues related to Vietnam's undersea cables and has launched strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s international connectivity. Since mid-2023, the MIC has outlined plans to deploy at least ten new undersea cables by 2030, enhancing the total number of cables to 15. By 2025, two new undersea cable systems are projected to be operational to bolster capacity and reliability.
This digital infrastructure strategy was approved by the Prime Minister last October and includes goals to maintain uninterrupted communication with global networks, which are increasingly necessary for digital economies. ISPs currently leverage five strategic undersea cables: AAG, AAE-1, APG, IA, and SMW3, commanding over 20 Tbps of operational capacity with potential growth to 34 Tbps.
Recent developments have brought new hope, as the ADC undersea cable, which Viettel is partially investing, commenced operations and expects to be ready for service shortly. This new cable stretches nearly 10,000 km, promising considerable bandwidth of over 160 Tbps and extending connectivity to multiple key locations including Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. When fully operational, ADC is projected to become the largest undersea cable serving Vietnam.
The fiber optic infrastructure's frequent vulnerabilities have serious consequences. With two of the main cables currently offline, the impact on users is imminent. There have been numerous complaints about degrading internet service, confirming the interconnectedness of global telecommunications and the pressing need for stable, redundant infrastructure.
Simultaneously, as Vietnam is making headway with future projects to diminish cable outage impacts, the immediate concerns remain. Users are feeling the immediate effects of the maintenance issues, evidenced by reports of slow internet browsing, buffering during streaming, and disruptions to remote work.
Indeed, the government's ambition to address and revamp the international undersea cable framework reflects growing recognition of the importance of resilient internet connectivity. At present, the telecommunications sector is aiming not only for improvements but also anticipates rising demands for internet bandwidth as the popularization of 5G and digital services continues to evolve.
With Vietnam's internet users hoping for swift resolutions to these disruptions, it is clear the recent challenges surrounding undersea cables serve as reminders of the significant fragility within the country's digital backbone. With strategic plans underway, the hope is to create more reliability and resilience within these systems, minimizing future disturbances.