Internet trouble in Belize blamed on attacks from China

Belizeans, expats and visitors, it is not your imagination. Internet service really has been horrible.

Belize Telemedia Limited says that its system has been under attack from outside forces, possibly from China, sending Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that consume vast resources, forcing the company to shut down service.

Basically, the attacks create a massive traffic jam on the Internet servers, making it nearly impossible for a company like BTL to handle legitimate traffic.

BTL customer services manager Dionne Miranda says the company’s Internet and email customers have been experiencing service problems for over a week.

The company’s Chief Technology Officer Kevin Hope believes the attacks have emanated from somewhere in China, according to a report today.

The result has been that BTL customers have been periodically unable to access the web on their computers and mobile devices. Some have been unable to access non-BTL e-mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail.

Read more about the attacks and BTL’s efforts to counter them here.

And here: BTL Internet service under attack

Press release from BTL dated June 30, 2014:

Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL) advises its DSL customers that the Company continues to experience connectivity or slow browsing issues with our internet service.  This is as a result of an external attack to their system and their technical teams are working to find a permanent solution. If you have difficulty accessing the internet, you are asked to kindly power cycle your modem.

If the issue continues, please call the Call Center at 119 to make a formal report so that it can be investigated further. Customers are informed that the BTL Technical Teams are working to normalize internet service.

“We are please to share that the Company is in the process of upgrading its equipment which will provide advanced security features and improved service reliability. We apologize for any inconveniences caused and thank you for your patience and support.” – End of Release

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