Interesting. I have had slow internet here in HKG since the Japan earthquake. I did some digging and turns out that some cables were cut off the coast of Japan, so I find it surprising that the middle east would re-route internet across the pacific where there is already a strain.
I would say the problem in the middle east is controls of the internet traffic by all the dictatorship / monarchies that are running scared from the commoners. I mean, you got Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain.
This whole mess in the ME has one common force behind it - the internet. No longer can the leaders of these wealthy autocracies point the fingers at others and say "you should blame them for your problems". People around the world are now connected and it is much harder to hide the truth.
It is actually funny trying to watch these idiots hang on to power with dear life. It is gonna be good to see them hanging in the town square. You reap what you sow.