Telkom says the Internet link between SA and the US has been restored after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in Manhattan last Tuesday damaged fibre optic connections.
"The link was restored over the weekend and e-mail traffic between the two countries is now generally running smoothly," said Telkom in a statement issued today.
"Telkom lost at least 80% capacity of its Internet link to the US, affecting Web browsing, e-mail traffic and file transfers."
Switching facility Telehouse, where the Telkom line terminates, resides less than a kilometre from where the twin towers once stood, severely restricting both Telkom and Internet Solutions` connection.
Emergency generators provided a window period of connectivity, but rescue operations limited access to provide the generators with additional fuel and subsequent hiccups were experienced.
Additional generators have now been deployed and Telkom says these will supply adequate power supply.
However, Telkom has warned that full reliability can only be guaranteed once the power grid in lower Manhattan is fully restored and says consumers may still experience periodic interruptions.
Telkom has asked consumers to assist by limiting large file transfers or the downloading of large files to and from US-based connections as well as "unnecessary browsing of US-based Internet Web sites" until the situation has been normalised.
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