GO would like to give an update on the major fault in the submarine fibre-optic cable linking Malta to Sicily. The latest update is that the services powered by this cable, including broadband-related services, international voice traffic, and roaming, have been restored and in the next few hours the situation will be totally back to normal. Most of the repair works in mainland Catania have already been completed by Telecom Italia.

Earlier in the day, the fault in the cable had been localised in mainland Sicily, and has been caused by a third party Italian contractor. The fault was located in Catania around 3 kilometres away from the Telecom Italia equipment site. The Italian technical personnel and their GO counterparts worked hard to resolve this situation.

Throughout the day, GO rolled out its contingency plan in order to provide limited broadband and international voice backup service via a microwave link with Sicily as well as satellite communication services.

GO would like to state that this incident further confirms the importance of the company’s decision announced in January 2008 to install its second submarine cable to Sicily via a different landing route and utilising a different provider. This project, which is estimated to be completed by the end of the year, will provide resiliency and backup in such instances.

The company would like to apologise for any inconveniences caused.

Permalink: International connectivity restored as repair works are completed in Sicily