DataCo Working on Cable Outage, Says Komboi

PNG DataCo advised that due to the earthquake in Morobe Province on May 7, the Kumul Submarine Cable Network suffered multiple breaksBy Papua New Guinea Post Courier
May 28, 2019

PNG DataCo advised in a statement released yesterday that due to the earthquake that occurred in Morobe Province on May 7, the Kumul Submarine Cable Network suffered multiple breaks between Madang and Lae and between Lae and Popondetta.

All the services were restored on the same evening on the secondary links but with increased latency due to satellite use.

PNG DataCo Managing Director Paul Komboi has advised that PNG DataCo is in contact with its customers to ensure service continuity at acceptable levels as it work towards a permanent fix.

“Following tests carried out by DataCo and our suppliers, the cable has suffered at least three breaks outside Lae area,” Mr Komboi said.

He assured a finalised plan of restoration.

“The restoration time frame for the Submarine cable will take approximately six weeks.

“Our Team is doing everything in their control to ensure services are restored to the primary links in the shortest possible time,” Mr Komboi said.

He stated for industry understanding that such submarine cable network infrastructure throughout world are not covered under any insurance scheme.

“Such occurrence of earthquakes or natural disaster are usually excluded under any insurance.

“Warranties only apply and cover for instance of defects on design, installation, equipment and materials.

“However, with the South Pacific region, a body for maintenance of submarine cable was established and DataCo is currently a party to the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA) because of the APNG-2 submarine cable, but due to the domestic cable still in its delivery stage, the Kumul Submarine Cable Network is not specifically covered under the agreement and arrangement.

He said, however, DataCo is now in discussions with SPMMA on the options for repair.

“While we understand that we are in an earthquake prone region; the “Pacific Rim of fire”, the industry and the public must also understand that we are building a robust and resilient network with redundant loops to ensure that we have redundancy to ensure continuity of services in such instances,” he added.

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