Damaged Undersea Cables Disrupting Africa’s Internet Will Take Weeks to Repair

Undersea cable companies that extend internet services to West and Central Africa estimate that it could take five weeks to repair damages to their facilities noticed last week. Widespread internet outages in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Côte d’ivoire were reported on Mar. 14, making many websites unavailable and disrupting online banking operations. Some of the difficulties have eased in the days since but a weeks-long timeline for fixing the cause means internet access will remain spotty...cables laid deep in the ocean underpin the wireless internet world, carrying data across continents through connected landing stations and data centers...faults along undersea cable lines serving Africa are not new. The WACS cable reported two breaks in the first half of 2020, while the ACE line’s break in 2018 resulted in a total internet blackout in Mauritania for two days. ACE had been Mauritania’s sole submarine cable connection but plans have since been launched for a second connection. The European Investment Bank is providing majority funding for a new €35 million cable. torn country in the coming months, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths warned the Security Council on Friday in a note seen by Reuters. Griffiths said acute levels of hunger were being driven by the severe impact of the conflict on agricultural production, damage to major infrastructure and livelihoods, disruptions to trade flows, severe price increases, impediments to humanitarian access and large-scale displacement . ... He said it was likely that some people in West and Central Darfur would move into those famine conditions as security worsens and the lean season starts. Cross-border aid delivery from Chad to Darfur is a "critical lifeline," Griffiths said.