BTL returns some traffic to ARCOS cable

One of the two breaks in the ARCOS undersea cable ring has been repaired and BTL has begun to shift some of its telecommunications traffic back to that system.

Viewers will recall that the first of two unrelated and highly improbable cuts in the cable occurred on November eleventh, seven miles east of Cancun. Traffic was automatically routed south through the fibre optic cable with no interruption in service. But when another break occurred on November twenty-seventh off the coast of Venezuela, all the countries between Colombia and Mexico were left disconnected. While BTL was able to act quickly to make alternate arrangements via its own satellite link and a Mexican carrier, a number of Central American countries had to wait until yesterday to return to full internet and international telephony service. According to a BTL spokesman, the company will not bring back all its traffic to the ARCOS cable until the Cancun break is repaired, which is expected to be accomplished within a week. No estimate has yet been made with regard to the total costs incurred by BTL as a consequence of the cable faults, which are believed to have been caused by ships dragging their anchors.