The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reported that telecommunications operators have successfully restored approximately 90% of voice and data services disrupted by recent undersea cable cuts. This information was disclosed in a statement released on Monday, signed by Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs at the Commission.
In response to the disruption caused by cuts to undersea fiber optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal on March 14, 2024, the NCC stated that affected operators have utilized recovery capacity from unaffected submarine cables, thereby restoring services to nearly 90% of their peak utilization capacities. Additionally, mobile network operators have assured the Commission that data and voice services will continue to operate optimally until full repairs are completed, thanks to the activation of alternative connectivities.
The NCC expressed gratitude to telecom consumers for their patience and understanding during the downtime caused by the undersea fiber cuts.
Meanwhile, the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), an unaffected digital backbone, has been at the forefront of the continent’s response to the cable cuts affecting the WACS, ACE, Main One, and SAT3 subsea systems on Africa’s western seaboard.
Chris Wood, Group CEO of WIOCC, highlighted the company’s proactive role in addressing the internet service disruption in Nigeria and other West African countries. He stated that WIOCC’s engineering, operations, and field teams, in collaboration with strategic network partners and equipment suppliers, have been working tirelessly to activate an additional 2 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity across unaffected cables within the network. This effort aims to support the capacity needs of other network operators and hyperscalers affected by the cuts.
Wood also emphasized the resilience and scale of WIOCC’s core backbone, noting that clients connected directly at Open Access Data Centers (OADC) in South Africa and Nigeria are shielded from the impact of subsea outages due to redundant infrastructure. He further mentioned that the Equiano cable in Lagos, which WIOCC owns a fiber pair in, remains unaffected by the incident off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire.
WIOCC’s landing of the cable directly into the OADC data center establishes a resilient digital ecosystem hub in Lagos, offering direct connectivity to Europe and South Africa. Consequently, OADC’s data centers and WIOCC’s hyperscale network are pivotal in restoring services to other facilities and operators currently experiencing outages in Lagos and elsewhere on the continent.
