In a significant blow to connectivity across East Africa, several countries in the region have been experiencing a major internet outage since Sunday 12th May. The disruption, which has crippled major network channels, is attributed to faults in the underwater cables that connect the region to the rest of the world via South Africa.
The affected cables, known as Eassy and another unnamed cable, were severed approximately 45 kilometers north of the South African port city of Durban. Ben Roberts, the group chief technology and innovation officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has confirmed that the incident was an unfortunate coincidence rather than an act of sabotage.
The impact of this outage has been substantial, with internet traffic in Tanzania plummeting to just 30% of anticipated levels, according to Cloudflare Radar. Service providers in the affected countries, such as Airtel Kenya, Safaricom, Airtel Uganda, and MTN Rwanda, have acknowledged the issue and are working to rectify it.
Dependency on submarine cables
The reliance of East African internet service providers (ISPs) on submarine cables for international connectivity has been highlighted by this outage. While ISPs maintain their own high-speed leased lines and data centers to manage customer traffic, they still depend on these crucial underwater links to access the global internet backbone.
The damaged cables have resulted in reduced internet speeds, intermittent connectivity, and in some cases, a significant drop in internet traffic levels across the region. This has affected the ability of ISPs to deliver stable and reliable internet services to their customers.
Impact on businesses
The internet outage has had a significant impact on businesses across East Africa. With major ISPs experiencing disruptions, businesses have faced challenges in maintaining their online operations and communication networks. The poor connectivity and slow internet speeds have hindered businesses from delivering services to their customers effectively.
Trading hours have been extended, and business operations have been obstructed in multiple nations due to the damaged cables. The outage has highlighted the vulnerability of critical communications infrastructure in Africa and the reliance of businesses on stable internet connectivity for their day-to-day operations.
Efforts to repair the damaged cables are underway, but the process is expected to take weeks or even months, further prolonging the impact on businesses in the region. The outage has underscored the importance of reliable internet infrastructure for businesses in East Africa and the need for contingency plans to mitigate the effects of such disruptions in the future.
Similar disruptions occurred in parts of West and Southern Africa in March, affecting countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. Those outages were also attributed to cable failures, although the cause remained unclear, leading to the frustration of millions of customers across the continent.
