Last week, South Africa experienced a notable setback in its internet connectivity due to the simultaneous snapping of two crucial undersea communication cables. The incident has resulted in disruptions to internet services across the nation, with some websites loading slowly or failing to load altogether.
The two cables that suffered damage are the West Africa Cable System (WACS) and the South Atlantic Telecommunications Cable number three (SAT-3). The incident occurred on August 6 in the Congo Canyon, reportedly triggered by a rockfall in the canyon.
Openserve, a prominent network operator, confirmed the cable break and disclosed that a consortium of partners is actively engaged in the restoration efforts for these vital cables. The undersea fiber optic cables play a hidden yet integral role in maintaining the global internet infrastructure, facilitating high-speed transmission of massive volumes of telecommunications signals worldwide.
Anne-Caroline Tanguy, the director of public relations for Cloudflare, a major internet network, reported "severe degradation from the cut." This issue affected network performance in Johannesburg, as all South African networks struggled with reduced capacity due to the cable break. The increase in traffic resulting from the disruption took time to manage.
It's worth noting that while the WACS and SAT-3 cables are essential, they are not the sole underwater cables connecting South Africa. Several service providers have significant capacity on other cables, such as Google's Equiano undersea cable, which debuted in South Africa in August 2022.
The impact of the cable breaks varies among telecommunications companies, as it depends on their reliance on these specific cables. Some businesses have more capacity on alternative cable systems, while others might be limited to one or two cables. Vodacom, a major telecom company, mentioned that initial disruptions in traffic flows should be anticipated due to the sudden removal of key routes like WACS and SAT-3.
Despite the disruptions, Openserve assured its customers that its network remains robust due to investments in other international cable capacities. Vodacom also employed proactive measures to mitigate potential bottlenecks, including additional capacity on unaffected cable routes and traffic engineering.
However, Cloudflare cautioned that websites hosted in the US or Europe might still experience slowness or complete inaccessibility. The reduced international capacity between Africa or Europe could lead to these issues, as efforts to repair the cables are expected to take weeks.
The repair work is being carried out by the cable ship named Leon Thevenin, which is currently engaged in repair activities near Kenya. Weather permitting, the cables are anticipated to be fully repaired by the second week of September, bringing relief to South Africa's internet connectivity woes.
