An undersea data cable connecting the Philippines to Hong Kong got damaged, prompting major telecommunications company PLDT to issue a statement regarding the situation.

In Facebook posts on both PLDT and Smart pages, the company had announced that its subscribers on both PLDT and Smart Communications networks may experience slower internet connections when accessing several websites and online services such as Facebook, Google, and Netflix. The company has announced that it is taking measures to remedy the effects while repairs are underway.

Update (May 1, 10:15 PM): Converge ICT has responded to inquiries made by YugaTech if they are affected by the said incident. Their official statement was immediately posted on their social media channels, reassuring its customers that their services are unaffected. “Converge nonetheless would like to assure our subscribers that no degradation in speed or quality of our service will be experienced as our capacity is more than enough to provide a fast and reliable internet connection our customers deserve,” it has said.

There are several cable systems that connect the country to Hong Kong including the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), the EAC-C2C, the APCN-2, and the Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC). PLDT has not announced the specific cable in concern, but Converge ICT confirms the damaged cable to be from the AAG, a 20,000-kilometer undersea cable system that connects several Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong to the United States including Guam and Hawaii. The faults in the cable were seen as early as Sunday, April 29.



The Asia-America Gateway (AAG) Cable System

This isn’t the first time undersea cables were cut, as we’ve reported multiple cable system damages in September 2017 and another back in 2014, both of which had parts of the AAG cable system damaged. Typical reasons for cable cuts include typhoon onslaughts and force from anchors of ships that pass through the areas where the cables are laid.

Globe Telecom has yet to issue their statement regarding the recent cable cut. More as we get it.