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HONG KONG - Millions of people across Asia suffered a second straight day without full Internet service Thursday as telecoms operators raced to counter predictions of weeks without Web access.
At least eight boats headed to the waters between Hong Kong and Taiwan so that repairmen could tackle the complicated task of fixing underwater fibre-optic cables damaged in a huge earthquake off Taiwan on Tuesday.
Although stock markets across the region functioned normally, access to overseas websites remained spotty, as did the ability to dial telephone numbers in the United States and across Southeast Asia.
"Our system is gradually recovering," leading Japanese long-distance provider NTT Communications, said in a statement, explaining that it had re-routed much of its data transmission away from the troubled Taiwan route.
"However, for certain customers it will take a longer time for full restoration as it may require a complete reinstallation of cables."
Telecommunications operators in Taiwan and Hong Kong warned that although service would be gradually restored thanks to such re-routing of networks, fixing the widespread problems could take as long as three weeks.
Taiwan's largest phone company, Chunghwa Telecom, has contracted three boats from Britain, Japan and Singapore to take workers to the zone, said deputy general managed Lin Ren-hung.
Efforts would be made to divert Internet connections with the support of foreign service providers until the ruptured cables could be repaired, he added.
Hong Kong's telecommunications authority said five maintenance ships had been sent out to repair the cables, which handle about 90 percent of total capacity in the area.
International landline calling and roaming mobile services in the southern Chinese territory were returning to normal, but it said repairs could take up to a week.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan late Tuesday sparked widespread disruption Wednesday, hitting China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere, but knock-on problems occurred as far away as Australia.
Millions of people dependent on the Internet for instant news updates, stock prices and e-mail were given a clear reminder of what life was like before the World Wide Web.
Global banking giant HSBC said Thursday its Internet service has been affected and was working to restore service to customers via alternative providers.
In Vietnam, providers urged Internet users to ease congestion along the damaged lines by refraining from downloading music or large data files from local websites that were unaffected by the quake-related damage.
Pham Cong Lien, deputy director of the Internet management centre for FPT Telecom, Vietnam's leading telecoms firm, said: "The problem is beyond the control of Internet service providers."
In Thailand, traders and businessmen were able to access certain websites, but around 70 percent of the country's Internet users were without access, according to CAT Telecom Public Company Ltd.
South Korea's information and communications ministry said 98 exclusive business lines -- 80 run by Korean Telecom (KT) and 18 by LG Dacom -- remained out of action Thursday but other Internet and telephone services were normal.
"Just the services have got back to normal. The cables still remain damaged," Hong Seong-Yong, a ministry official handling the problem, told AFP.
Service across most of Australia had been restored on Thursday. - AFP/ir
 
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