Somalia’s Net on after 3-week hiatus

HARGEISA, Somalia — Somalia’s Internet service has been restored after a three-week system failure that cost the Horn of Africa nation about $10 million a day, authorities said Monday.

Hormuud Telecom, the country’s largest telecom company, announced the restoration of service in a message to subscribers.

The loss of Internet service sparked anger across Somalia and affected the central and southern parts of the country including the capital, Mogadishu. The government called it a “major disaster.”

Officials and Internet providers attributed the problem to a commercial ship that they said cut an undersea cable.

Major companies reported millions of dollars in revenue losses. University studies were disrupted.

The Internet failure also complicated efforts to fight a nationwide drought that has half of the country’s 12 million people in need of assistance.