Often there is a problem with one or more of the so-called "backbones." Even breakdowns in far-flung locales can impact US service, since by its nature, the Net re-routes. I am fairly confident most of the slowdowns affecting West coast people are due in some part to the facts below:
"Rush to mend cable after Net jam
Millions of users impacted by broken undersea connection
REUTERS
SINGAPORE, Nov. 21 — Telephone companies from Singapore and Indonesia are scrambling to repair a break in an undersea telecommunications cable that led to major Internet traffic jams for millions of users across the globe.
SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Ltd. said it had dispatched a cable ship to repair the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable, which was cut between Singapore and Jakarta.
The 23,600-mile cable links Australia, Asia and Europe and is one of the world’s busiest Internet cables.
The cause of the damage was unknown, but possibilities include a ship’s anchor or earthquake.
“We still don’t know what caused the cut and it’s part of the international cable...through 33 countries,” said a spokesman for Telstra Corp Ltd, Australia’s biggest Internet provider, which lost 65 percent of its international capacity on Monday.
“We have been told that it has impacted Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, the U.K. and United States at least and possibly other countries as well,” he added.
“We’ve re-routed traffic since the damage occurred,” a spokesman for the Singaporean company said.
Telstra, with more than 650,000 customers, relies on the cable for around 60 percent of its traffic.
It posted a notice on its Web site warning customers of long delays due to the disruption to its “Australian backbone.”
Telstra said its Big Pond network was virtually closed down overnight, but had since been able to re-route traffic and was now operating at 75 percent capacity.
Telstra said said it would take a number of days to repair the cable."
BobT.
A Indiana Boy
