Victor EzejaOperators of damaged major undersea cables along the West African Coast have been battling to repair them and restore internet and other telecom services in the affected countries.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Cote de’Ivoire, among other countries in West Africa were negatively impacted by the incident. This was gleaned from the level of disruption of Internet access provided by major telecom networks connected to the cables.
“The cuts occurred somewhere in Cote de’Ivoire and Senegal, with an attendant disruption in Portugal,” a statement signed by NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, revealed.
NCC explained that some Cable companies like West African Cable System (WACS) and African Coast to Europe (ACE) in the West Coast route from Europe have experienced faults while SAT3 and MainOne have downtime.
“Similar undersea cables providing traffic from Europe to the East Coast of Africa, like Seacom, Europe India Gateway (EIG), Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE1), are said to have been cut at some point around the Red Sea, resulting in degradation of services across on these routes.
“In Nigeria and other West African countries, Internet access and speed have experienced disruptions in the networks of service providers in the affected countries.”
It said operators of these cables have begun repairs, and services are gradually being restored.
“They have promised to work round the clock to ensure that services are restored to the affected countries within the shortest possible time,” it added.
Many subscribers to major telecom network providers in Nigeria such as MTN, Airtel, and Glo have been unable to access internet services due to disruptions in their data services in the last 48 hours.
MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications provider, said its services in several West African countries have been disrupted.
In a statement on Thursday, the telco giant said the ongoing disconnection experienced by its customers is due to breaks in multiple major undersea cables.
MTN said efforts are being made to resolve the disruption.
“Recognising the critical importance of consistent internet and communication services, we are fully committed to swiftly addressing these disruptions,” MTN said.
“To mitigate the impact on our customers in the affected countries, our operations are actively working to reroute traffic through alternative network paths and engaging with our consortium partners to expedite the repair process for the damaged cables.
“Leveraging our robust and resilient network infrastructure, we aim to minimise service interruptions and maintain connectivity.
“We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work diligently to resolve this situation.”
Commercial banks in Nigeria have also been affected by the damage to submarine cables as their online transaction channels are not working
In a notice to customers on Thursday, Sterling Bank apologised to customers over the effect of the network disruption affecting transactions.
“We are aware that you may be experiencing difficulties trying to transfer funds, reach our customer care team, or transact via USSD and genuinely apologize for the effect of this on your day,” Sterling Bank said.
“We are fully committed to providing the best service and are working tirelessly to resolve this issue. You have our promise to notify you as soon as it has been fixed.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
