Undersea cable cuts: Repairs ongoing, Telcos apologise for network outages

Undersea cable cuts: Repairs ongoing, Telcos apologise for network outages

March 15, 2024

Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have apologised to users for outages on their different networks caused by damage to multiple submarine cables along the West African Coast.

The appeal was made in a statement signed by the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo and Executive Secretary of ALTON, Mr Gbolahan Awonuga.

Adebayo said that on behalf of its members, it wished to assure users of communication services that repair processes were ongoing by the responsible international service providers.

A combination of cable cuts, resulted in equipment faults on major undersea cables along the West African Coast.

The issue negatively impacted data and fixed telecom services in several West Africa countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast among others.

The cuts occurred somewhere in Ivory Coast and Senegal, with an attendant disruption in Portugal.

Cable companies such as West African Cable System (WACS) and African Coast to Europe (ACE) in the West Coast route from Europe have experienced faults, while SAT3 and MainOne have downtime.

Adebayo said that the unfortunate development had impacted on data and internet service delivery by some of its members.

“We highly regret any inconveniences caused by the damage to the submarine fibre optics cable on the international waterways.

“We seek for your continuous understanding on behalf of our members, “he said.