Recall that on 14 March 2024 four submarine cables; WACS, ACE, SAT3 and MainOne, were damaged, leading out internet outage in West Africa.

According to a statement released by the organization, a copy of which was made available to Techeconmy, Bayobab said it recognizes the economic importance of pending challenge, and have already made progress in restoring service in some affected regions.

The Group also expressed commitment to achieving full recovery as expeditiously as possible.

It noted that, ACE and WACS have jointly initiated the repair process by mobilising a cable ship for a collaborative repair effort, while investigation and repair efforts are underway.

Bayobab said its strategy focuses on successfully rerouting traffic, leveraging our extensive network, and collaborating with industry partners.

The former MTN GlobalConnect, noted that it network resiliency allows for the swift activation of new cables, facilitating faster rerouting and bolstering network resilience. By activating new cables, we quickly increase interconnectivity and establish alternative routes.

“Additionally, we are working with the cable consortiums and partners to enhance interconnection along both the west and east coasts, with further interconnections between WACS and Equiano, and the introduction of the end-to-end connection between WACS on the west coast and EASSy on the east coast.

“The next-generation services company which focuses on connecting Africa with digital solutions, however sincerely appreciate consumers understanding and patience during this period”.

The undersea cable on Thursday negatively impacted on data and fixed telecom services in several countries of West Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire.

According to a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, director, Public Affairs at NCC the cuts occurred somewhere in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, with an attendant disruption in Portugal.

Cable companies – WACs and ACE in the West Coast route from Europe have experienced faults while SAT3 and MainOne have downtime.

Similar undersea cables providing traffic from Europe to the East Coast of Africa, like Seacom, EIG, AAE1, are said to have been cut at some point around the Red Sea, resulting in degradation of services across on these routes.

In Nigeria and other West African countries, Internet access and speed have experienced disruptions in the networks of service providers in the affected countries.

Operators of these cables have commenced repairs already, and services are gradually being restored.

They have promised to work round the clock to ensure that services are restored to the affected countries within the shortest possible time.

It is important to bring this information to the knowledge of corporate and individual consumers on these services.

Similarly, Angola Cable released a statement titled: ‘Disruption to international submarine cables off the West African coast (WACS, SAT-3, MainOne, ACE)’.

The Angola Cable said whilst the cause of the reported cable breaks off the Cote d’Ivoire of West Africa has not yet been confirmed, it is ensuring that the impact on Angola and other African countries is being minimised by redirecting international data and traffic to the SACS cable, which connects Angola directly to Brazil and from there to the United States and Europe.

“Angola Cables has network backup and restoration solutions available through cables that have not been affected by the faults off the Cote d’Ivoire.

“Our technical team is currently diligently working with industry partners to stabilise international connectivity and to ensure that we can provide support and guarantee the stability of services to African network operators and entities that need it”, the company said.

Techeconomy broke the news following the acknowledgement by Bayobab Group which said that connectivity disruptions faced in parts of West Africa including Nigeria was due to undersea cable damage.

The undersea cable affected the internet connectivity of major Mobile Network Operators in Nigeria and neigbouring West African countries.

A statement by Bayobab Group acknowledged the ongoing disruptions affecting connectivity services in several West African countries, due to breaks in multiple major undersea cables. 

Also, MTN Nigeria released a statement in which the largest telecom company in Nigeria apologized to its subscribers over the network outage.

The statement reads: “We apologise for the challenges you may be experiencing with internet speed and accessing data services at the moment. 

“This is as a result of damage to international undersea cables across East and West Africa. 

“The repair process is ongoing to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Please loot out for further updates”, the statement concludes.”

The undersea cable affected the internet connectivity of major Mobile Network Operators in Nigeria and neigbouring West African countries. 

A statement by Bayobab Group acknowledged the ongoing disruptions affecting connectivity services in several West African countries, due to breaks in multiple major undersea cables. 

“Recognising the critical importance of consistent internet and communication services, we are fully committed to swiftly addressing these disruptions.

“To mitigate the impact on our customers in the affected countries, our operations are actively working to reroute traffic through alternative network paths and engaging with our consortium partners to expedite the repair process for the damaged cables. Leveraging our robust and resilient network infrastructure, we aim to minimise service interruptions and maintain connectivity.

“We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work diligently to resolve this situation”, the statement reads.

Similarly, MTN Nigeria released a statement in which the largest telecom company in Nigeria apologized to its subscribers over the network outage.

The statement reads: “We apologise for the challenges you may be experiencing with internet speed and accessing data services at the moment. 

“This is as a result of damage to international undersea cables across East and West Africa.

“The repair process is ongoing to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Please loot out for further updates”, the statement concludes.

Bayobab Group, as part of the 2Africa consortium, confirmed that the cable has landed in Lagos Nigeria.

The 2Africa consortium comprised of Bayobab, center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC, is developing the world’s largest subsea cable project.

Techeconomy also gathered that Dr. Bosun Tijani, the minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, will officially announce the landing of the cable in Nigeria.

These landings are the third and fourth for Bayobab as part of a series of six landings across five countries, including three locations in West Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire as well as South Africa.

“Following two milestone landings in South Africa, we are pleased to announce 2Africa cable landing further up the continent, in Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria,” said Frédéric Schepens, CEO of Bayobab.

“The 2Africa initiative is at the core of the work we do as Bayobab, with the ultimate goal of connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa. We are eager to continue offering services that will expand the rapidly growing African digital economy and positively impact growth across the continent.”

Through these landings Ghanaian and Nigerian service providers have access to capacity in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis.

It will also support a healthy internet ecosystem development by enhancing internet accessibility for businesses across all sectors and customers. Bayobab partnered with MTN Opco’s to complete the cable landings.

“We want to deeply support the African continent’s capacity needs and provide the required digital infrastructure that can boost the digital economy,” added Mohammed Aliyu, chief fibreco officer at Bayobab.

“These cable landings lend further credence to our East2West project, which will enable us to bridge the digital divide in West Africa and the rest of the continent by supplying dark fibre access as well as active fibre capacity across more than 10 African countries, connecting several landlocked countries to subsea cables in the process.”

Nigeria and Ghana are set to play a key role in the growth of West Africa’s digital economy. The 2Africa cable will, therefore, go a long way towards transforming the region’s connectivity landscape.

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