Egypt asks internet users to lay off downloading

The ministry for telecommunications in Egypt has asked internet users to lay of downloading music and films for the time being.

The request comes after damaged cabling under the sea led to disruptions in internet services in the Middle East and South Asia.

Yesterday saw two cables at the bottom of the Mediterranean damaged. The cause of the damage is not yet known.

There was disruption to 70% of the nationwide network in Egypt and so the internet bigwigs have asked for internet users to refrain from downloading things until the cables are fixed.

A ministry spokesman, Mohammed Taymur, told AFP

"Two of our cables are affected ; everyone will go onto a third cable. But that will not be enough bandwidth. The cable will be overloaded and no one will be able to get access"

Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world. The cables should be repaired in about a week.

Until then, go out, get some fresh air, rent a movie.