London, UK – In a major internet disruption reported across various countries in Africa, widespread outages affected nations such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. While services have been largely restored in Liberia and South Africa, the cause of these cable failures remains unclear and has left millions of customers frustrated.
According to Cloudflare Radar, which provides information on internet connections, there appears to be a pattern in the timing of the disruptions, impacting countries from the north to the south of Africa. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) attributed the outage to damage on international undersea cables running along the West African coastline, specifically noting cuts in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
An expert explained that undersea cables can be cut by debris or due to undersea earth slides, causing instability and disruptions. The impact of these disruptions has led to significant challenges for individuals reliant on internet connectivity for their livelihoods, such as fashion designer Cheick Senou in Ivory Coast, who struggled to communicate with clients and organize deliveries without the internet.
Measurements from Netblocks revealed that internet connectivity dropped significantly in various African countries during the disruptions, with Ivory Coast experiencing only 4% connectivity at one point. Similar drops were recorded in Liberia, Benin, and Ghana, highlighting the widespread impact of the outages.
In South Africa, Vodacom reported intermittent connectivity issues due to multiple undersea cable failures, while Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, was affected by a fault in the MainOne cable system. The Liberian government confirmed internet disruption, with citizens unable to access basic internet services, social media, and international bank transfers.
Individuals like Benjamin Garkpah in Monrovia expressed frustration over the impact of the outages on their daily lives, noting significant disruptions to business operations and financial transactions. The Liberia Telecommunications Authority attributed the disruptions to incidents involving the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine communications cable in Ivory Coast.
Ghana’s National Communications Authority also reported multiple undersea cable disruptions as responsible for the outage, underscoring the widespread nature of the internet disruptions across the African continent. The situation has shed light on the importance of reliable internet connectivity for both individual users and businesses operating in these affected countries.