February 12, 2024 (Port Sudan) – Sudan’s telecommunications network and internet were partially brought back online on Monday after the government-owned ‘Sudani’ company set up a temporary data center in Port Sudan. Ta.
This follows a nationwide outage ordered by the Rapid Support Force, which manages data centers of various telecommunications companies in Khartoum.
Although most cities have restored access to Sudani’s services, some users reported continued issues with direct connections and limited internet access. Private operators Zain and MTN have not yet restored full service.
Anonymous sources told the Sudan Tribune that Sudanese engineers were able to get the backup data center up and running after much effort.
Former communications minister Hashem Hasab al-Rasoul claimed on social media that the outage was caused by the Rapid Support Force (RSF) instructing companies to suspend services. He compared this to previous closures during major events, such as the protester sit-in attack in front of the general headquarters in Khartoum in June 2019.
“But this time the de facto authorities used another political party,” he added, implicating the RSF.
Officials pointed to Port Sudan’s “disaster recovery center” as evidence supporting the former minister’s accusations, which enabled Sudani to recover quickly.
Al Fateh Elwah, Zain’s managing director, also blamed the closure on RSF’s order to close its main data center in Khartoum, adding that it had requested that services be resumed in Darfur first.
(ST)
