By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has announced that voice and data services affected by undersea cable cuts last week have been 90 per cent restored.
In a series of tweets signed by Mr Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs at the commission on Monday, March 18, the NCC said, “Following the disruption on March 14, 2024, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, we are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90% of their peak utilization capacities.”
Last Thursday, African submarine cables like those on the West Coast of Africa to Europe such as South Atlantic Telecommunications cable no.3 (SAT-3), MainOne Cable System, West Africa Cable System (WACS), and Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) were damaged by external factors that have not been officially disclosed.
This development disrupted telecommunications and commercial activities around the African continent, especially Internet services, albeit in different degrees. For Nigeria, it was low compared to higher in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
Now with the update, the NCC said all operators who were impacted by the cuts have taken recovery capacity from submarine cables, which were not impacted by the cuts, revealing that they have “thus recovered approximately 90 per cent of their peak utilisation capacities.”
“Mobile Network Operators have assured the commission that data and voice services would operate optimally pending full repairs of the undersea cables as they have managed to activate alternative connectivities to bring back the situation to normalcy.
“We extend our appreciation to telecom consumers for their patience and understanding during the downtime caused by the undersea fibre cuts,” the statement said.
