Why Internet Disruptions Have Disrupted Parts of Africa: Exploring the Causes and Implications

The disruption in internet connectivity across parts of the African continent last week was attributed to damages on multiple undersea telecommunication cables, according to reports by The East African. Operators and Internet watch groups have cautioned that resolving the situation could take weeks or even months. As of Friday, at least eight countries in the continent had reported significant connectivity issues, although details regarding the cause of the sub-sea cable damages remained limited.

Reports from global media networks indicate that the affected cable lines, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), MainOne, South Atlantic 3, and ACE sea cables, are essential continental arteries for telecommunications data. MTN Group Limited, a prominent wireless carrier in Africa, stated that ACE and WACS had collaborated to initiate the repair process. As of Friday, plans were in place to dispatch a vessel to address the damaged cables.

Countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Benin experienced significant disruptions, with connectivity dropping to as low as four percent in Côte d’Ivoire and 17 percent in Liberia. Benin and Ghana also saw drops to lows of 14 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Mild disruptions were reported in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa, while other affected countries included Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, and Niger.

The National Communications Authority of Ghana reported that cable disruptions also affected Senegal and Portugal, leading to a significant degradation of data services across Ghana. Mobile network operators are working diligently to restore full services.

According to an unnamed spokesperson at Internet analytics firm Cloudflare, technicians must first assess the extent of the damage before beginning repair works, which could take a considerable amount of time. Repair timelines can range from weeks to months, depending on factors such as the location of the damage, the extent of repairs needed, and local weather conditions. The assignment of repair ships is contingent on various factors, including ownership of the impacted cables.

The widespread fears stemming from the disruptions underscore the critical importance of uninterrupted internet connectivity, especially in countries severely impacted like Côte d’Ivoire. With Africa leading mobile device web traffic globally, the potential consequences of a total outage are significant, affecting businesses reliant on internet services to deliver to customers.

The disruptions have already affected various sectors, such as finance and manufacturing, with Ghana’s stock exchange extending trading hours and Nigeria’s cement manufacturer cancelling investor calls due to obstructed business operations across multiple nations. As networks attempt to reroute traffic around the damage, the capacity available to other countries may diminish, exacerbating the impact.

This recent disruption follows closely after the severance of three telecommunication cables in the Red Sea, disrupting a significant portion of traffic between Asia and Europe, as well as the Middle East. The incident highlights the vulnerability of critical communications infrastructure, which plays a pivotal role in global connectivity.

Undersea cables, often funded by tech giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, are crucial for maintaining internet connectivity worldwide. While natural events like earthquakes can pose threats to these networks, most large telecom firms have multiple cable systems in place to ensure uninterrupted service, mitigating the impact of such incidents.