Internet outage
What really caused South Africa's internet outage? Image: Supplied

Home » Here’s why your internet connection could be slow this month

Here’s why your internet connection could be slow this month

Damage to two major undersea cables in one day means your internet connection could be disrupted this month.

By Ray Leathern
14-08-23 09:58
in Featured
Internet outage
What really caused South Africa's internet outage? Image: Supplied

Internet provider, Openserve, has confirmed that the West Africa Cable System (WACS) and South Atlantic Telecommunications Cable number three (SAT-3) were both damaged in the undersea Congo Canyon due to a rockfall last week. This could ultimately result in a slow Internet connection in certain regions.

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It said a consortium of partners is working to restore these cables off the coast of Kenya, which should be back up and running by next month (September) weather permitting.

DISRUPTED INTERNET CONNECTION

internet connection
A graphic of the world’s undersea internet connection cables. Picture: The Conversation.

This is not the first time the intricate network of underwater fibre-optic cables has been disturbed. And these lines are responsible for the high-speed transfer of telecommunications right across the world.

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Thankfully, WACS and SAT-3 aren’t the only underwater cables that run to South Africa. Google’s Equiano undersea cable became operational in August 2022, and it could pick up the slack till normal service is resumed.

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Cloudfare noted a network performance issue on August 6 as well as severe degradation from the damage. While a spokesman from Vodacom said: “Disruption in traffic flow is to be expected from the cable breaks. The unplanned, sudden removal of key routes like WACS and SAT-3 can be expected to result in initial disruption in traffic flows.”

OVERSEES HOSTING

internet connection
Picture: Supplied

Openserve said that the impact is mostly limited to customers on the international private leased circuit services. And assured that its network remains robust due to investment in international cable capacity.

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Until the repair is complete, websites hosted in the US or Europe could feel slow or might not work at all as the international capacity to Africa fluctuates.

Are you battling with a slow internet connection since last week’s cable damage? Let us know in the comments section below.

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