Telcos in Nigeria assure full restoration of services following undersea cable cut

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has confirmed that voice and data services, impacted by the undersea fiber optic cable cut along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, are set to be completely restored by Tuesday.

ALTON’s Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, revealed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday, following last Thursday’s disruption which affected broadband Internet connectivity for Nigeria and neighboring countries in the West African sub-region.

The affected undersea cable companies include the West African Cable System and African Coast to Europe, leading to downtime for SAT3 and MainOne due to the cable cut.

Over the weekend, telecom companies, banks, and financial institutions rerouted their traffic to alternative service providers to mitigate the impact.

While some providers reported gradual restoration of services, others were still in the migration process, causing delays and congestion.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced on Monday that services had been restored to around 90 per cent of their peak utilisation capacities. 

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, expressed gratitude to consumers for their patience during the downtime.

Adebayo expressed confidence that services would be fully operational by Tuesday, highlighting efforts to minimize the disruption’s impact. 

He explained that alternative routes and connectivity were activated by unaffected operators.

Although all telcos in Nigeria were affected to varying degrees, Adebayo emphasised that none were exempt from the disruption, as it was a major link to Nigeria affecting communications across West Africa.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, announced plans for global collaboration to enhance undersea cable protection. 

Tijani stressed the importance of reviewing international laws and forming partnerships to safeguard vital infrastructure.

MainOne, a cable company relied upon by Nigerian banks for Internet services, disclosed that repair for its damaged submarine cable could take up to five weeks. 

The firm has a maintenance agreement with Atlantic Cable Maintenance and Repair Agreement for repair services.

The disruption, while challenging, is seen as a catalyst for resilience and growth in Nigeria’s digital economy, with efforts underway to ensure the reliability of undersea cables, crucial for today’s interconnected world.