Several African countries have no internet because of damaged submarine cables

Damage to undersea data cables has led to internet outages in several African countries. The incident occurred off the west coast of Africa. There were also recent restrictions on the east coast.

Damage to underwater data cables off the west coast of Africa has caused serious internet disruptions in at least twelve West and South African countries. Interconnection services in the countries were affected due to disruptions in several key submarine cables, said Bayobab, a subsidiary of South African network operator MTN. Bayobab does not provide any information about the cause of the damage. The group is one of the largest network operators in Africa.

Emails, online banking, social networks, telephone

The Internet was largely down in the states of Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso, according to data from NetBlocks, an organization known for monitoring Internet blocking. There were medium and light restrictions in eight other countries – including the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria – as far as South Africa. There, too, thousands of users are without internet, reported the South African specialist portal MyBroadband.

All internet services are affected, such as email traffic and online banking, but also access to social networks and international telephone calls. The US company Microsoft speaks of damage to four fiber optic connections that run along the West African coast.

restrictions recently also in the Red Sea

The submarine cables run from Europe through the Atlantic south into the Gulf of Guinea and mostly on to South Africa. Recently, submarine cables were cut in the Red Sea off the east coast of Africa. Most connections between Europe and Asia pass through the area near the Horn of Africa, where Yemen’s Houthi militia attacks Western merchant ships.

It is suspected that the anchor of the ship “Rubymar”, which sank after a Houthi attack, may have cut the cables. Overall, Internet capacities for the continent are currently severely impaired, Microsoft said.

Submarine cable from Portugal to South Africa

Most of the world’s data traffic travels via subsea fiber optic cables laid on the ocean floor. One of the longest connects Portugal with Cape Town in South Africa, over 15,000 kilometers away.