The second outage this year on the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable happened at 4 a.m. on July 19, on the S1H segment connecting Vietnam’s Vung Tau landing station to the international trunk. This incident disrupted all internet services from Vietnam to international destinations via the AAG cable.
According to the cable operator’s plan shared with Vietnamese ISPs on July 24, repairs were scheduled from July 27 to July 31. However, on July 26, the expected completion date was postponed to August 3.
In reality, repair work on the July 19 fault began on July 26.
Speaking to ICTnews on August 1, a representative from a Vietnamese ISP confirmed that at 1:20 p.m. on July 31, the repair ship completed the final splice, fully restoring international traffic through the S1H branch from Vung Tau.
With this fix, all five major undersea cables carrying most of Vietnam’s international internet traffic, APG, SMW3, AAE-1, AAG, and IA, are now operating normally.
“As Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and many southern provinces remain under social distancing, internet and social media use is high. Having AAG back online eases pressure on ISPs to maintain quality service for users,” the ISP representative said.
According to the Vietnam Internet Association (VIA), despite frequent issues, AAG remains the most cost-effective cable economically. It’s still a key part of ISPs’ infrastructure, especially for major providers with many mobile internet users. Earlier, when the outage first occurred, Vũ Thế Bình, VIA’s Vice Chairman and Secretary General, told ICTnews the July 19 incident could have a bigger impact than previous ones: “Because of the complicated Covid-19 situation, with many people staying home, internet demand has surged for essential communication and social interaction.”
The AAG cable officially launched in November 2009 and stretches 20,191 km. It connects Southeast Asia directly to the U.S., passing through Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong (China), the Philippines, and the U.S. (Guam, Hawaii, California). The Vietnam branch is 314 km long, landing at Vung Tau.
Earlier this year, the first AAG outage happened at 5:40 a.m. on June 22 on the S1H branch about 102 km from Vung Tau. A Vietnamese ISP estimated the disruption affected less than 15% of Vietnam’s international internet capacity. Repairs started July 2 and finished by the evening of July 12, restoring full service.
