Users of voice services and Internet access in Asia and between Asia and the U.S. felt the impact of yesterday’s 6.7 to 7.1 magnitude earthquakes and aftershocks that struck southern Taiwan and damaged undersea cables connecting the countries.

Fifty percent to 60% of capacity in Chunghwa Telecom’s network was cut off according to a statement released by the company, Taiwan’s largest telecom operator. Most hard hit were its connections to China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Sixty percent of the capacity to the U.S. was also lost.

With incremental quality improvements, services is expected to be restored within three weeks, said an AP report. Telecom companies in the affected areas are in discussions about possible use of interim satellite communications.

China Netcom also reported the loss of and the slowing of some Internet services in Beijing.

In Japan, KDDI’s fixed-line telephone service also was affected by the quakes. Problems also were reported calling India and the Middle East, which traverse the affected undersea cables. The company was re-routing calls through the U.S. and Europe.
Roaming between Japan’s three major telecom providers—NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank--also was affected.

The quake itself also hit KT, South Korea's largest telecom company, whose businesses and institutions were affected, but not most residential customers.

Hong Kong telephone company, PCCW, reported that its data capacity was reduced by 50% and that many Internet users were unable to access Web sites in parts of America, Taiwan and South Korea and could not call Taiwan.

The three earthquakes that hit southern Taiwan yesterday killed two people and injuring 42 others. They came on the second anniversary of the magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra that triggered the tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people and ravaged coastal villages throughout the Indian Ocean.

Earlier this month, six companies announced their investment of $500 million to build the first undersea Terabit cable system between China and the United States. KT from South Korea signed a deal with U.S. telecommunications service provider Tyco Telecommunications to lay the transpacific undersea fiber-optic cable.

KT will build an 18,000-kilometer undersea cable linking South Korea, China and Taiwan with the U.S. The undersea cable, named the transpacific express (TPE), will be completed in the latter half of 2008 and start commercial operation in 2009, said KT in an announcement on December 16^th.