Image credit: Techpoint Africa. – Photo: 2024
Global Information Network, by Lisa Vives
NEW YORK | March 17, 2024 (IDN) — What would a world without phones be? Without long-distance service? Without digital cellular networks? Billions of people around the world now This is difficult to imagine, since you can call relatives, do business, exchange information without putting it in writing.
Within 50 years of its invention in 1849, the telephone has become an essential tool, but this week in West and Central Africa, according to NetBlocks. a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance; Multiple undersea cable failures have cut Africa off from the rest of the world.
At this time, the exact cause of these disorders is unknown.
Netblocks said Ivory Coast faced the most severe disruption, with Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso severely affected. Internet company Cloudflare has confirmed through one of its monitoring accounts that large-scale disruptions continue in Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, and Niger.
By 8 a.m., bank closures were reported across Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Network failures due to cable damage have been occurring in Africa in recent years. But “today’s disruption signals something bigger, and this is one of the most serious,” said Isik Mehta, research director at NetBlocks.
In some cases, the shutdown is intentional. In Senegal, for example, the communications ministry on Tuesday instructed mobile phone operators to suspend internet access just before a silent march organized by activist groups.
The march was aimed at protesting the sudden postponement of presidential elections scheduled for February 25, following violent clashes last week that left three people dead and scores arrested.
However, regarding the undersea power outages, Associate Professor Jess Auerbach Jahazia, writing in The Conversation, said that much of western and central Africa, and some countries in the southern part of the continent, have been without internet service since March 14. He pointed out that it remains unavailable. Four of the fiber optic cables running under the sea around the world have failed.
Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa are among the 10 worst-hit countries. Microsoft warned customers that there could be significant delays in repairing the cables. His MainOne, a West African data center and connectivity provider, believes the internet outage was caused by a failure in its undersea cable system.
South Africa is in a relatively good position
Although South Africa appears to be in a relatively good position, several African countries, including Sierra Leone and Liberia, actually only have one fiber optic cable running into their country. Internet traffic from these countries essentially stops when the cables are cut. Namibia and Lesotho were also affected.
“Naturally, it has a huge impact on every aspect of life, business and even politics,” Jahajia continued. “While some communications can be rerouted via satellite, satellite traffic only accounts for about 1% of the world’s digital transmissions.”
Questions are now emerging around so-called “digital colonialism,” she said. “Previously, financing for cable projects was done through a combination of public and private sector partnerships, but now large private companies such as Alphabet, Meta, and Huawei are increasingly financing cable infrastructure. This has significant implications for the control and monitoring of digital infrastructure.”
“Poor countries often have little choice but to accept the terms and conditions of wealthy corporate entities. This could be very dangerous to Africa’s digital sovereignty, and we need more public awareness on this issue. It should be discussed publicly.” [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image credit: Techpoint Africa.
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