Algerian Earthquake Provides 5 Times Faster
Internet Connection For Turkish Users.
The Algerian earthquake that measured 6.7 on the
Richter scale last year has benefited Turkish Internet users.
When the outbound Internet communication was disconnected due to
the quake, Turkish Telecom (TTN) decided to lay a new 500-km
fiber cable in the Mediterranean.
The quake's damage has been covered but due to
the line that was laid down, Turkish users have had five times
faster Internet connection. The acceleration will be felt
starting in June. The fiber cable was connected to the Island of
Crete and Italy through Istanbul. By connecting to the
underwater fiber optic cable ring made by the MedNautilus
Company in the Mediterranean, Turkish Telecom has drawn a new
line of 10 Gbps to the foreign Internet exit with this 35
million dollars investment.
500 people lost their lives in the quake in
Algeria. Since the underwater fiber optic cable lines between
Italy and Morocco were broken after the quake, Turkey's foreign
Internet connection capacity decreased to 20 percent, thus
Internet service providers (ISP) and private companies working
with foreign countries suffered.
Since the Internet connection infrastructure was
only provided by Turkish Telecom, ISP firms and sector
representatives claimed million of dollars in loss due to the
disconnection. A fiber cable called SMW3 that conducted TTNet's
foreign Internet connection was the only line providing 80
percent of Internet connections without any alternative.
