BRIEFING - ASIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS - DEC 28, 2006.

Dec 28, 2006, prepared by Asia Pulse (http:/ www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

CHINA'S INTERNET ACCESS SLOWS TO A CRAWL

BEIJING - Access to overseas websites from the Chinese mainland slowed to a crawl yesterday as a powerful earthquake off the Taiwan coast knocked off international undersea fibre-optic cables on Tuesday, affecting communications around Asia.

It is believed to be the most serious disruption since 2001, when a submarine cable connecting the mainland with the United States was cut off more than four times, mostly by fishing boats.

S. KOREA BUSY FIXING QUAKE-TRIGGERED COMMUNICATION CUTOFF

SEOUL - South Korea's major fixed-line operators were scrambling to normalize communication disruptions caused by a powerful earthquake off Taiwan two days ago, officials said Thursday.

A 6.7-magnitude quake hit the seas off southern Taiwan on Tuesday night, damaging around 120 major underwater cable lines laid by South Korean communications companies and causing partial communication cutoffs in South Korea.

CHINA REPAIRS UNDERSEA CABLES DAMAGED IN QUAKE

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Information Industry and major telecom operators have started an emergency action to detect the damages caused by a powerful earthquake off the Taiwan coast on undersea fibre-optic cables.

The Ministry said China Telecom (SEHK:0728) and China Netcom (SEHK:0906) are taking active measures to repair the damaged cables which had interrupted Internet connection services from the Chinese mainland to North America, Europe, Singapore and the Asia-Pacific.

SOUTH KOREA TO PUSH FOR FAIRER TELECOM MARKET: MINISTER

SEOUL - South Korea plans to ease regulations on leaders of the local telecom market and continue efforts to level the playing field for the industry next year, a top policymaker said Thursday.

The telecommunications market has enjoyed rapid development, driven by government efforts to offer a fair competitive environment by toughening restrictions on dominant market players, dubbed "asymmetrical regulation."

VODAFONE, ESSAR NEGOTIATE DEAL ON HUTCHISON TELECOM INDIA

HONG KONG - As the top bosses of Vodafone and Essar arrived here to negotiate a deal for acquiring Hutchison Telecom's Indian business, its parent company has indicated it will not consider any offer below US $14 billion.

While Ravi Ruia Vice-Chairman of Essar, the Indian partner in the JV Hutch-Essar, is here along with his advisor JM Morgan Stanley and investment bankers, British telecom major Vodafone's CEO Arun Sarin too is in town for talks with Hutchison Telecom International Ltd, informed sources said.

UZBEK MOBILE OPERATOR COMPLETES US$35 MLN NETWORK EXPANSION

TASHKENT - Uzbekistan's largest mobile operator Uzdunrobita has completed a US$35 million network expansion programme.

During the programme, which was identified as the third stage, Uzdunrobita installed equipment with a capacity to serve 630,000 subscribers. The company launched a total of 350 base stations in 150 communities across Uzbekistan this year.

TAIWAN QUAKE DISRUPTS SOME COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

SEOUL - Scores of foreign companies in South Korea experienced disrupted communications Wednesday as a strong earthquake in the southern seas off Taiwan disconnected underwater fiber-optic cables, South Korean officials said.

"The Seoul offices of Citibank, HSBC and Bank of America are affected by the disconnection of the communications lines, as their servers are located outside of South Korea," said an official at the Financial Supervisory Service.

REPAIRING UNDERSEA CABLES TO TAKE 2-3 WEEKS: CHUNGHWA TELECOM

TAIPEI - Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom said Wednesday that it will take two to three weeks to repair its undersea cables damaged in the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that struck off the coast of Taiwan's southern county of Pingtung Tuesday night.

The damage to the cables caused by earthquake - which struck at 8.26 p.m. Tuesday, with the epicenter located 22.8 km southwest of Hengchun, Pingtung at a depth of 21.9 km underground - has severely affected data traffic between Taiwan and Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with data capacity reduced to a mere 2 per cent, Lin Jen-hung, a Chunghwa Telecom manager, said at a news conference held in Taipei Wednesday.

PLDT, SMART SERVICES SUFFER CABLE BREAKS FROM TAIWAN QUAKE

MANILA - The international cable facilities being utilized by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Smart Telecommunications, Inc. have suffered major cable breaks due to the recent earthquake that took place in Taiwan.

Smart said as a result, IDD and broadband Internet services are currently intermittent.

QUAKE DISRUPTS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN SOUTH KOREA

SEOUL - KT Corp (KSE:030200), South Korea's largest fixed-line operator, said Wednesday their undersea fiber optic cables were disconnected in the southern seas off Taiwan due to a strong earthquake Tuesday night, disrupting communications services for local foreign companies.

KT said that an earthquake of 6.0 magnitude took place at 9:42 p.m. on Tuesday in the area 23 kilometers south of Taiwan, cutting cable lines under the sea,

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ASIA PULSE 28-12 1915