BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Full Internet services -- disrupted by an earthquake off Taiwan at the end of last month -- may not be restored until the end of the month.

    Sources with China Netcom (CNC) said seven repair ships have been working round-the-clock, but the nature of the undersea terrain and bad weather had combined to slow work. To make matters worse, the extent of the damage to the cables was initially underestimated.

    China Telecom said another reason for the delay was the dense and intricate distribution of trans-oceanic networks in the area off Taiwan. It said the most optimistic estimation for resumption of full services is Jan. 20.

    According to CNC and China Telecom, regular phone and special telephone services of both companies are functioning properly, and 80 percent of Internet services have been restored. Surfing speeds have picked up from the snail speeds that prevailed in the days following the quake.

    An expert from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications said the incident rings alarm bells for the Asian information industry which has long been over-reliant on American routers. The high density of undersea cables in a particular spot increases the risks of disruption from natural disasters.

    Last year China Telecom and CNC signed an agreement with three overseas operators to build a Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) Cable Network connecting the United States, South Korea, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan province, with an international bandwidth five times that of present.

    The new TPE routes, including direct networks connecting the eastern cities of Shanghai and Qingdao with the state of Oregon in America, will avoid quake-prone areas to limit possible damage from natural disasters. The new cable is expected to be completed in 2008.

    The undersea cable connecting China to the United States was severed by a Dec. 26 earthquake off Taiwan's south coast, which initially paralyzed the network and has disrupted and slowed internet connections ever since.

Related:

Quake-broken Internet links partially restored

    BEIJING, Dec. 29 -- Chinese mainland telephone operators have partially restored telecommunications disrupted by the severing of undersea cables off the Taiwan coast.

Ships to arrive to repair quake-broken cable

    BEIJING, Dec. 28(Xinhuanet) -- Ships carrying crews to repair the two undersea fibre-optic cables, which were broken in earthquakes, will arrive in the affected area in several days, an official of Taiwan's main telecommunications company said Thursday.

Internet access slows to a crawl

    BEIJING, Dec. 28 -- Access to overseas websites from the Chinese mainland slowed to a crawl yesterday as a powerful earthquake off the Taiwan coast knocked off international undersea fibre-optic cables on Tuesday, affecting communications around Asia.

    It is believed to be the most serious disruption since 2001, when a submarine cable connecting the mainland with the United States was cut off more than four times, mostly by fishing boats.

    It is not clear when normal service will be restored.