Four undersea cables hit faults, Vietnam’s international internet slows locally
VOV.VN - Four of Vietnam’s eight international undersea cables - SJC2, AAE-1, AAG, and Intra-Asia (IA) - are currently experiencing technical issues, affecting international Internet traffic.
According to international cable operators, the SJC2 and AAE-1 submarine cables encountered faults almost simultaneously on August 25, 2026. The AAG cable had already been experiencing a problem and had not yet been fully repaired, while the Intra Asia (IA) cable was also affected.
The IA cable is expected to begin repair work in early September. No specific repair schedule has yet been announced for SJC2, AAE-1 and AAG.
SJC2 and AAE-1 play important roles in connecting Vietnam to international Internet networks. SJC2 has a design capacity of up to 126 Tbps and is partly invested in by VNPT, with a landing station in Quy Nhon.
AAE-1 has a design capacity of approximately 40 Tbps, connecting Asia with the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Viettel is its sole Vietnamese partner, operating the cable’s landing station through a $50 million investment.
Meanwhile, AAG has been in operation for many years and connects Southeast Asia with the United States.
With four of Vietnam’s eight international undersea cables currently affected, users could experience localised slowdowns during peak periods when accessing overseas social media platforms, streaming services, and online games. Domestic websites and services hosted in Vietnam are not expected to be affected.
In response, Vietnamese Internet service providers have activated contingency measures, including load balancing and rerouting traffic through operational undersea cables and terrestrial networks.
Vietnam currently relies mainly on submarine cable systems for international Internet connectivity, including AAG, APG, SMW-3, IA, AAE-1, TVH, ADC and SJC2.
Submarine cable faults are not new. Dozens of incidents have been recorded since 2022, with several cable systems at times experiencing problems simultaneously. The recurring disruptions have highlighted the need to diversify Vietnam’s international connectivity infrastructure.
New ADC submarine cable route officially put into operation
VOV.VN - The new ADC (Asia Direct Cable) international undersea cable route that boasts the largest bandwidth capacity in Vietnam was officially put into operation on December 19.
