Damage to at least 3 underwater cables on the western coast of Africa has caused major disruptions in Internet services across the continent. The affected cables include the West Africa Cable System (WACS), Mainone, and Africa Coast to Europe (Ace), leading to widespread outages and network issues for Internet users. The cause of the cable malfunctions has not yet been determined.
Analytical companies such as Netblocks, Kentik, and Cloudflare have reported significant communication disruptions in 8 countries of West Africa, with Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Benin experiencing the most severe impact. Other affected countries include Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and reports of service disruptions in South Africa.
Major African mobile operators MTN Group and Vodacom Group Ltd. have reported connection problems in South Africa as a result of the damaged underwater cables. MTN is working on rerouting traffic through alternative networks and expediting the repair process. Kentik has warned that the disruptions could last for several weeks.
The consequences of the cable failures extend beyond the telecommunications industry, affecting cloud services and applications of large tech companies like Microsoft. Microsoft confirmed disruptions in their cloud services and Microsoft 365 applications due to decreased capacity.
The damaged cables, including WACS (blue), Mainone (purple), and Ace (green), play a critical role in connecting Europe with Africa and Asia through Egypt. The affected cables carry about 25% of the traffic in the region, creating a throughput deficiency and forcing customers to seek alternative routes.
This incident follows a similar event in the Red Sea, where 4 out of more than 15 underwater cables in the region were cut (Seacom, TGN, AAE-1, EIG), leading to a 25% reduction in throughput. Around 15% of the Asian traffic is routed westward, with 80% of the traffic passing through the cables in the Red Sea.