Whoops, no internet

Internet connections to and from Thailand have always been, hmm, somewhat in need of improvement, but now it looks like the recent earthquake off Taiwan has done the same to the country's digital communication infrastructure that the Bank of Thailand has done for its international economic standing. The Bangkok Post quotes CAT Telecom (Thailand's Internet regulator and monopoly operator of the country's international gateway) as saying it will be the end of February before full bandwith is restored, although immediate efforts are underway to mitigate the worst of the damage.

The International Herald Tribune has a report titled "Earthquake knocks Asia back to phone age, and beyond" giving an overview of the general situation in Southeast Asia.

FWIW I haven't noticed any problems from Europe, but the sites I've been accessing may not be physically located in Thailand. Posting on some Thailand-related forums seems to be reduced, but that may be due to the holiday season.

Update: having said that, I am having difficulty accessing the website of a major bank in Singapore.