NetBlocks, in a post on its verified X hande, stated,

“Network data show a disruption to Internet connectivity in and around multiple East African countries.”

It was noted that Tanzania and the French Island of Mayotte were experiencing a high impact on Internet connectivity, while Mozambique and Malawi were seeing a medium impact.

https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1789660992902730235

Another Internet firm, Cloudflare, also confirmed on X that connectivity disruptions were ongoing in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

Earlier, Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator, announced that it had activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep subscribers connected as they await the full restoration of the cable.

The telecom operator, however, said subscribers would experience reduced Internet speeds.

In March 2024, internet disruptions were reported in West African countries including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, as well as South Africa.

The outages were attributed to damage to four sub-sea cables off the west coast of Africa, which disrupted connectivity across the continent.

The affected cables included the West Africa Cable System, MainOne, South Atlantic 3, and ACE sea cables, which are critical for telecommunications data.

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He is a seasoned business leader with over 25 years’ experience across the enterprise, telecoms, financial services and technology markets across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

He will work alongside the company’s outgoing Group Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Fortuin, for a three-month period to ensure a smooth leadership transition, at the end of which he will assume full responsibility for the business.

“I am delighted to join SEACOM at this critical time in Africa’s digital transformation and the business’ own transformation.  I look forward to continuing to drive the strategy that has set the company on becoming a Pan-African converged telecommunications organisation.  Much has been achieved in the past two years, and I am excited to be part of a truly African business as we expand our services and geographic footprint further”, said Mangale.

Mangale previously spent 16 years at Dimension Data Group (now NTT), where he held various senior leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Client Experience Director across Africa and the Middle East.

He also held the roles of Managing Director for Cisco Systems South Africa and Chief Enterprise Officer for MTN Business in South Africa.

His most recent role was Group Chief Engineering Officer for Standard Bank across all their markets.

Mangale’s experience in running the largest enterprise telecommunications unit in Africa, coupled with his intimate knowledge of the South African and African business environment, plus decades of experience managing large complex organisations, uniquely positions him to continue the excellent work done to date to transform and grow SEACOM into Africa’s largest converged telecommunications provider.

“The board and I are delighted that Alpheus has agreed to join us and lead our strategy of African expansion. We are confident, given Alpheus’s track record, knowledge and experience in this operating environment, that Alpheus is precisely the right person to lead the business at this juncture. The board and I look forward to working with him to achieve our strategic objectives. We would like to thank Oliver for his effective leadership and commitment and for redefining how we do business across the continent.” said Pieter Uys – Chairman of the SEACOM Board.

The acquisition marks a significant step for SEACOM and is a testament to the company’s commitment to providing, competitive end-to-end connectivity and ICT solutions across the region.

“East Africa has been an important market for SEACOM ever since we first arrived on the shores of Mombasa in 2009,” explained Tejpal Bedi, Managing Director and Regional Head of Sales for SEACOM ENEA. “By officially establishing ourselves in Uganda through proprietary facilities and resources, we are prioritising widespread connectivity and opening up opportunities to work with businesses in search of quality Internet services.”

This latest expansion comes on the heels of SEACOM’s recent acquisition of Kenyan service provider Hirani Telecom’s metro fibre network.

SEACOM is poised to take over a comprehensive portfolio of infrastructure essential for connecting enterprise customers.

This includes 760 kilometres of fibre within the Ugandan capital city of Kampala and surrounding towns, a 250 square metre data centre, and office space for SEACOM representatives and staff members.

“The acquisition goes hand in hand with our five-year strategy into expanding operations in the region,” Tej added. “As such, we are very excited about having a greater local presence.”

SEACOM has provided wholesale solutions to Uganda since its inception in 2009, and corporate solutions since 2018.

The leading service provider enjoys a large footprint in Uganda’s financial services sector (FSI) and works with government and non-governmental organisations, including those in the education, technology and hospitality sectors.

Although dominated by small businesses, Uganda is home to a thriving private sector with thousands of medium to large-sized businesses located primarily across Kampala and the central region.

There’s also a growing Internet penetration rate with competitive connectivity prices as compared to other countries in the region.

The acquisition of established infrastructure will allow for further expansion into East Africa, enabling SEACOM to provide seamless integration of its services for clients across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and decreasing the reliance on third-party last mile providers to deliver connectivity solutions – solutions that include wireless and fibre Internet access, cloud connectivity, as well as hosting facilities, such as email and security, such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection software.

“SEACOM is responding to the needs of the market. Customers are starting to buy more bandwidth. Businesses are making use of the cloud like never before, using enterprise resource planning, Office 365, and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions that serve not just to fill gaps, but aid in driving digital transformation and strengthening internal and external capabilities. The growth of the Internet in the region follows the demands of these businesses, and it’s up to us to facilitate that. The end result is lower prices, improved reactions, and an overall better experience for our customers,” concluded Tej.