Widespread Internet Outages Plague African Countries

Widespread Internet Outages Plague African Countries

On Thursday, countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso experienced widespread outages, causing frustration for millions of customers across the continent. While Liberia and South Africa have largely restored services, the exact cause of the cable failures remains unclear.

Pattern of Disruptions

Cloudflare Radar, a provider of internet connection information, observed a pattern in the timing of the disruptions. The outages seemed to follow a north-to-south trajectory, impacting various regions of Africa.

Cause of Cable Failures

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), responsible for regulating the telecoms industry, attributed the outage to damage in international undersea cables along the West African coastline. According to NCC spokesman Reuben Muoka, the cuts occurred in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, resulting in a disruption extending to Portugal.

Additionally, retired experts have noted that undersea cables can be severed by debris or face instability due to undersea earth slides, where sections of the seabed become unstable, causing mud to flow down canyons or gullies. The experts also highlighted that cables coming ashore and buried underground are susceptible to accidental or intentional damage.

Impact on Internet-dependent Individuals

The internet outages have caused significant difficulties for individuals who rely on the internet for their livelihoods. Fashion designer Cheick Senou, based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, expressed the impossibility of communicating with clients and organizing deliveries through online apps. The absence of internet connectivity has hampered daily activities for many people.

Country-specific Impact:

Netblocks, a cybersecurity and internet connectivity tracking service, reported that internet connectivity in the Ivory Coast dropped to a mere 4% on Thursday morning. Similar disruptions were experienced in Liberia (17% connectivity), Benin (14% connectivity), and Ghana (25% connectivity).

In South Africa, Vodacom acknowledged intermittent connectivity issues due to multiple undersea cable failures, with additional reports of faults in the MainOne cable system serving Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos.

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Individual Testimonies

Benjamin Garkpah, speaking from Monrovia, Liberia, lamented the loss of approximately 50% of his day due to the internet outage. Fatumata Barry highlighted the adverse impact on her business as she was unable to receive payments through mobile money.

Government and Regulatory Responses

The Liberian government confirmed the internet disruption, which affected basic internet access, social media usage, international bank transfers, and international voice calls. The Liberia Telecommunications Authority identified an incident involving the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine communications cable in Ivory Coast as the cause.

In Ghana, the National Communications Authority (NCA) reported that multiple undersea cable disruptions were responsible for the outage.

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The widespread internet outages in African countries have posed significant challenges for individuals and businesses heavily reliant on internet connectivity. While services have been restored in certain regions, the precise cause of the cable failures remains unknown, highlighting the vulnerability of undersea cable systems.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh