☛ Gigaom: “In Japan, Many Undersea Cables Are Damaged” by Om Malik, March 14, 2011

The horrific earthquake and the ensuing tsunami in Japan have caused widespread damage to undersea communications, according to data collected by telecom industry sources. Initially, it was thought that the damage to the cables that connect Japan and Asia to each other and other parts of the world was limited, but new data shows the extent of the problems. (read more)

Gigaom is quoting the research firm Telegeography:

TeleGeography is a division of PriMetrica, Inc. The company offers individual and enterprise subscriptions to online databases and reports on subjects ranging from wireless carrier competition to global Internet backbone traffic. In addition, the company’s team of experienced consultants can supply customized market analysis, strategic advice, and support services to clients anywhere in the world.

Here’s a direct quote from Telegeograhy about the status of communication lines in Japan:

Following Friday’s devastating earthquake off the east coast of Japan, NTT has reported a large number of lines out of service. As of 6am yesterday morning, NTT East Japan said 879,000 telephony lines were out of service, as well as 475,400 fibre-optic lines. The company said it expects the numbers to grow as power supplies become drained. More than 11,000 wireless base stations belonging to DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank were also out of service as of yesterday morning. (“Communications hit after earthquake”, March 14, 2011)

More information about the damages caused by Friday’s earthquake to communication infrastructure in Japan ad surrounding areas below:

• The Wall Street Journal: “Asia Telecom Firms Rush To Repair Quake Damage To Undersea Cables” by Owen Fletcher and Juro Osawa, March 14, 2011.
• Dailywireless.org is an “independent blog about all forms of wireless communications”. It has a dedicated page about the impact of both the earthquake and the tsunami on communications. It’s a very rich resources filled with relevant links, data and graphs.

I first spotted the Gigaom post via Infoneer Pulse.
[UPDATE March 16, 2011] I updated the title of this post to reflect the nomenclature used by the Japan Meteorological Agency.