A significant disruption to internet services, which occurred on Thursday, has had widespread ramifications across multiple African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and others. The incident, caused by damage to critical undersea cables, has prompted internet service providers to urgently explore alternative routes and strategic alliances to restore service and minimize customer impact.
The damage, which affected key undersea cables along the West Coast of Africa, includes the WACS (West Africa Cable System), MainOne, SAT3, and ACE cables. These cables are vital for facilitating high-speed internet connections across several African nations, and their rupture has caused severe connectivity issues, including slow internet speeds, unreliable connections, and complete service outages.
Main Causes and Responses to the Cable Disruptions
MainOne, one of the leading internet service providers in West Africa, has attributed the break in its undersea cable to seismic activity on the Atlantic Ocean floor. In an official statement, MainOne explained that the rupture occurred due to some form of seismic disturbance in the seabed, though further details would be obtained once the cable is retrieved and repaired. The company expects repairs to take up to two weeks, involving complex procedures like the retrieval of the affected cable, splicing, and reinstallation.
In the meantime, service providers are actively looking for ways to alleviate the disruption. Seacom, another affected operator, has been working to reroute internet traffic through alternative channels, but with many other cables in the region also down, full restoration of services has proven difficult. Seacom’s flexibility as a privately-owned company has allowed it to deploy rapid solutions, avoiding bureaucratic delays common in larger organizations.
Financial Services and Other Sectors Hit Hard
The disruption has been particularly impactful in sectors that rely heavily on uninterrupted internet access, such as telecommunications, banking, and online services. Nigerian banks, for example, have experienced significant outages, with many customers unable to access mobile banking apps or perform transactions via USSD codes. Among the banks affected, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) urged its customers to use ATMs and POS services, while Zenith Bank acknowledged difficulties with its mobile and internet banking platforms.
Other industries also felt the impact, including entertainment, remote work, and distance learning. Streaming services, online education platforms, call centers, and other businesses that rely on heavy bandwidth usage faced considerable challenges. Although the financial losses from this incident have yet to be fully quantified, experts expect the costs to be substantial, particularly for sectors like banking, where transactions have been stalled.
Looking Ahead: Collaboration and Contingency Plans
Experts predict that to remain competitive and recover from the disruption, affected internet service providers will need to take swift and strategic measures. This may include temporary partnerships with unaffected fibre-optic systems or rerouting traffic through alternate cable routes to minimize downtime in the coming weeks.
For banks, the ongoing issues with connectivity could result in long-term shifts in customer behavior. Some institutions, like Sterling Bank and Lemfi, have already communicated to their customers about online banking difficulties, while others, including Zenith and FCMB, have actively encouraged the use of alternative banking channels.
Moreover, the disruption has not been confined to Nigeria alone. In South Africa, similar issues have arisen, with major service providers like Vodacom reporting difficulties caused by subsea cable failures connecting South Africa to Europe. Other cables, including the AAE1 and EIG systems, have also experienced outages, further exacerbating the regional internet service crisis.
Restoration and the Road to Recovery
As the affected service providers work to restore normal operations, it is expected that they will also take this opportunity to reinforce their infrastructure and make long-term improvements to prevent future disruptions. Some companies may choose to invest in additional redundancy by establishing new routes and alliances with other global internet providers. The industry will likely see an increased focus on strengthening resilience, with providers seeking to ensure their networks are better equipped to handle seismic disruptions or other unforeseen events.
In the short term, however, customers across West, Central, and Southern Africa will have to endure intermittent service outages while providers work to restore full functionality. It is clear that this event has highlighted the vulnerability of internet infrastructure in the region and the need for greater diversification and preparedness in the face of unforeseen challenges.
