The continent of Africa, particularly the west and central parts, finds itself without online services following reported failures in several subsea cables.
It is expected that millions of users will be affected, and the internet outage will last for weeks. This will have a big impact on businesses and the daily lives of the citizens in the region.
Cause of the Outage
Operators of the affected subsea cables have confirmed disruptions, though the exact cause of the failures remains unclear as of now.
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Seacom Confirms Service Interruption
Seacom, an African subsea cable operator, acknowledged the outage on its West African cable system. Affected customers are being rerouted to alternative cables, such as the Google Equiano cable utilized by Seacom.
Severity of the Disruption
Experts, including Isik Mater, the director of research at NetBlocks, highlight the severity of today's outage, indicating that it may signify a larger issue compared to past disruptions, per The Guardian.
Extent of Impact
The outage has impacted at least a dozen countries, with Ivory Coast experiencing particularly severe disruptions, raising concerns about essential service provision.
Impact on Internet-Reliant Businesses
With a significant portion of internet traffic in Africa routed through mobile devices, businesses across various sectors rely heavily on online services, amplifying the impact of the outage.
"It's been impossible to communicate with my clients - I also needed to organize a delivery through an online app," fashion designer Cheick Senou told the BBC.
Meanwhile, another citizen, Fatumata Barry, said that receiving payments through mobile money is nearly impossible. Indeed, the internet outage has cost her a lot in business.
Affected Countries
Countries such as Liberia, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Namibia, and Lesotho have reported disruptions, with fears of prolonged connectivity issues looming.
Continued Disruption
Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure company, notes ongoing disruptions in several countries, including the Gambia, Guinea, and Niger, hinting at a pattern of disruption spreading from North to South Africa.
Connectivity Issues in South Africa
Vodacom, a prominent South African telecoms operator, attributes connectivity problems to undersea cable failures, exacerbating network challenges across the region.
As networks attempt to mitigate the impact of cable failures, concerns arise about reduced capacity and technical complexities that could prolong the outage.
The internet outage in West and Central Africa pinpoints the critical importance of strong connectivity infrastructure.
While efforts are underway to restore services, the incident highlights the vulnerability of digital ecosystems in the region and the need for immediate methods to prevent future disruptions.
Speaking of outages, the popular fast food chain McDonald's suffered from a system outage, which prompted the company to temporarily suspend services in some of its stores.
