By Ken Afor
In a setback for digital connectivity across Nigeria and several African countries, recent reports indicate that the internet outage, triggered by undersea cable damage, could persist for up to five weeks.
MainOne, one of the affected undersea cable companies, revealed in a recent update that the restoration process might take longer than initially anticipated. The company stated that the fault, stemming from an external incident resulting in a cut on the submarine cable system, requires extensive repairs.
According to MainOne, rectifying the fault, acquiring necessary spares for repair, and mobilizing resources to the fault location could consume one to two weeks. Additionally, transmission time for the vessel to retrieve spares from Europe to West Africa might add another two to three weeks to the restoration timeline.
The outage has had a significant impact on Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and financial institutions reliant on internet services provided by the affected cables. Major undersea cables such as the West Africa Cable System (WACS), the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, and SAT3 have been impaired, leading to widespread internet downtime across West and South African regions.
However, amidst the disruption, Glo 1, owned by Nigeria’s leading digital services provider, Globacom, remains operational. The resilience of Glo 1’s International Submarine Cable has shielded it from the damage, allowing data users, internet service providers, and financial institutions relying on Glo 1 to continue operating without interruption.
Industry analysts attribute Glo 1’s robust infrastructure and resilience as key factors in maintaining uninterrupted service amidst the widespread internet outage affecting the region.
