"This may result in web pages taking longer to load, as well as impact to time-sensitive activities such as online gaming to servers in Asia."

Low latency impacts real-time communications and response times including payment and sale transactions, programs like Skype and fast-reaction applications like video games.

Although providers who use SEA-ME-WE 3 — which has a maximum capacity of 480 gigabits per second — were sent a notification about the fault on Sunday, no timeframe has been given for a fix.

It's not the first time the 39,000-kilometre cable has had a fault. When it was severed in January 2013 it took approximately four months to repair. This was due to delays in obtaining permits from Indonesian authorities.

The cable also suffered from a major fault in 2005 that affected approximately 10 million internet users and almost all communications going in and out of Pakistan.