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Scramble to repair Asia telecom lines after quake

Taipei - Telecommunications operators in Taiwan and Hong Kong have dispatched workers to repair quake-damaged undersea cables, as much of Asia remained without Internet access, officials said Thursday.

Millions of people from China to Australia muddled through a second day without full telephone or Internet services after Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude earthquake off Taiwan damaged the fibreoptic cables running through the zone.

Taiwan's largest phone company, Chunghwa Telecom, has contracted three boats from Britain, Japan and Singapore to carry repairmen to the area, said deputy general managed Lin Ren-hung.

Full repairs could take from two to three weeks, he said, adding that efforts would be made to re-route Internet connections with the support of foreign service providers.

In Hong Kong, where frustrated office workers struggled to gain access to overseas websites, telecommunications officials said five boats had been dispatched to the affected zone, local radio station RTHK reported.

Workers could need up to five days to partially restore the lines, the report said.

PCCW, Hong Kong's biggest fixed-line operator, did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

The disruption was widespread, hitting China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere, with knock-on effects as far away as Australia for companies whose Internet is routed through affected areas.

International call services in Southeast Asia and to the United States remained disrupted, with operators in several countries saying they could not give a firm date for the full resumption of services.

The Nation, 28 Dec 2006