On Thursday, submarine cable providers were affected by a major cut in their undersea cables, disrupting internet traffic in key areas of the continent.
This disrupted services for banks and telecom companies. Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
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main onea digital infrastructure service provider in West Africa, said preliminary findings and further investigation found the following:The failure was caused by an external accident that severed an undersea cable system in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast along the coast of West Africa.”.
The company said repairs to the undersea cable could take time. 1-2 weeks.
Repair status
Regarding cable repairs, MainOne says:We have a maintenance agreement with the Atlantic Cable Maintenance and Repair Agency (ACMA) to provide repair services to our submarine cables.”
“First, we identify and allocate a vessel. The vessel must retrieve the spare parts needed for the repair and then navigate to the failure location to carry out the repair work.
“Next, to complete the repair, the affected section of the submarine cable must be pulled from the ocean floor onto the ship, where it will be connected by trained technicians.”
After repairs, the joints will be inspected and tested for defects, after which the submarine cable will be lowered to the ocean floor and placed into position, MainOne said.
“This process could take one to two weeks to repair, but approximately two to three weeks of transit time could be required for the vessel to be dispatched, receive the spare parts, and travel from Europe to West Africa. There is a gender.”
MTN partners with Bayobab to tackle repairs
MTN Group said in a statement on Friday: bayobaba digital connectivity solutions company,
is working with partners to synchronize repair work on damaged underwater digital communications cables along West Africa.
“As confirmed by the consortium partners, four submarine cables were severed on March 14, 2024. WACS, ACE, SAT3, and MainOne.” MTN said.
The statement said it was working with partners to reduce the impact of the damage by rerouting traffic and activating more circuits.
“ACE and WACS mobilized cable vessels for joint repair operations and jointly initiated the repair process. While investigation and repair operations are ongoing, Bayobab’s strategy is to ensure the successful rerouting of traffic. , we focus on leveraging our extensive network and collaborating with industry partners.” said the phone company.
“Our network resiliency enables rapid activation of new cables, facilitating faster rerouting and enhancing network resiliency. will improve quickly and alternative routes will be established.
“Furthermore, we are working with cable consortia and partners to strengthen interconnections along both the West and East Coasts, further strengthening interconnections between WACS and Equiano, and connecting WACS and EASSy on the West Coast. We are introducing end-to-end connectivity between the East Coast.”
MTN said it has already made progress in restoring services in some affected areas and remains committed to achieving full restoration as quickly as possible.
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This is not the first time West Africa has experienced major disruptions to internet supplies.
In 2023, West African Cable System (WACS) The damage occurred off the coast between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon. The damage to WACS occurred on August 6th.
The cable damage was reportedly caused by an underwater rock slide in the Congo Valley, disrupting internet services in some West African countries.
Overall picture
The growing threat to internet cables, especially due to escalating conflicts in certain regions, including Yemen, may necessitate discussions about widespread use of low-orbit internet companies like Starlink.
However, this technology is still in its infancy and may not be able to handle large numbers of users compared to submarine internet cables.
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