The Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) of Kuwait recently reported a significant disruption affecting internet services in the country. The incident arose from a fault in the Falcon international submarine cable operated by Global Cloud Xchange (GCX), specifically impacting the link between Kuwait and Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Notably, the disruption occurred in an area outside of Kuwaiti territorial waters, resulting in a decline in the quality of internet services across the nation.
In response to this challenge, CITRA has been actively coordinating with GCX to implement the necessary technical measures to address the outage. The Authority has also engaged with local internet service providers to redirect data traffic through alternative international cables, ensuring continuity of service for users during this period of disruption.
By 2:00 AM on September 26, 2024, reports indicated that approximately 30% of the internet service had been restored through these alternative international cables. CITRA announced that efforts were underway to restore full internet services within the next 24 hours.
On September 29, 2024, the Authority confirmed that internet traffic had returned to normal levels following the successful activation of an emergency plan. The plan included the diversion of traffic to the alternative cables, effectively mitigating the impact of the severed Falcon cable and reinstating stable internet services for Kuwaiti residents.
