New safeguards against loss of cable links to Europe

Internet and mobile phone service providers offering international connectivity must now have a back-up plan in case of a fault developing in submarine cables linking Malta to the continent.

Under new regulations published yesterday, operators must ensure they have sufficient bandwidth capacity for an adequate level of uninterrupted connectivity and will have to inform their clients about their back-up plan.

The regulations came into force after two faults in submarine cables last year caused serious interruptions to the island's internet connections.

Malta Communications' Authority chairman Philip Micallef said the island's economy was increasingly dependent on international connectivity and faults to submarine cables linking Malta to Sicily hit businesses and consumers badly.

The gaming industry, which cannot afford such interruptions, uses up to 50 per cent of Malta's international bandwidth, Communications Minister Austin Gatt explained.

He said the regulations were issued after consultation with the main players, Go and Vodafone, as well as Melita, which is in the process of entering this market. The new rules, he said, aim to ensure that service providers are thinking ahead.

The regulations oblige operators to secure the availability of capacity and submit their contingency plan to the authority, which will audit it. Furthermore, they cannot unreasonably refuse to provide help in terms of capacity to another international operator in the case of a fault.

Failure to submit contingency plans or abide by the regulations would result in a penalty.

Dr Gatt stressed that the authority would have preferred service providers to make arrangements between themselves, as had happened in the past. But given the economic impact of such faults, the need for regulation was felt.

Due to Malta's position at the southern-most tip of the EU, the government had been trying to persuade the EU Commission to allow it to give incentives to other companies interested in entering the market for international connectivity, he said hinting that he was informed another company may be interested. However, when asked later, a spokesman for the MCA said the authority was not aware of this and had not been approached by a fourth service provider.

The minister urged operators and investors to reduce bandwidth costs, adding that the increasing competition in this sector was already yielding positive results.

By the end of this year Malta will have four submarine cables linking it to Sicily. Go has two, one to Catania and another was set up in December to Mazara del Vallo. Vodafone has one link to Catania and Melita is in the process of linking up with Pozzallo.

Last August, Go suffered a fault in its submarine cable, which left thousands of users without internet access for hours. In December, a massive fault to Mediterranean submarine cables also affected communications across Europe and even the Middle East. Vodafone and Go were affected but Vodafone was back online within the hour. Then, following an agreement between the two (reached after the August fault) Go rode on Vodafone's bandwidth until it restored its own service.

That same month Go was in a dispute with Melita, which wanted certain assurances before allowing it to share its bandwidth.