MainOne has revealed that it will now take 6 to 8 weeks to repair the recently damaged subsea cables that disrupted Internet connectivity in Nigeria and some other West African countries.
In an update on Monday, the digital infrastructure firm cited that the extent of the damage as the reason for the revised timeline. It noted that the repair vessel had already loaded the required spares. This new timeline is different from the 5 weeks the firm gave earlier.
Despite the extended timeline, MainOne emphasised that it has now restored services and enabled regional interconnection last week to ensure stability in the digital ecosystem across the region.
The firm said, “In addition, we are actively working with our maintenance partners, vessel owners and permitting authorities to expedite the repair of our submarine cable. We are very optimistic that our cable will be repaired as planned and services fully restored…”
Earlier, the digital infrastructure firm disclosed that seismic activity on the seabed may have caused cable breaks impacting Internet access in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and other African countries. The firm, one of the most hit, ruled out human activity as the cause of the cable cut.
At the time, the infrastructure firm said, “This process might take 1-2 weeks for repairs while about 2-3 weeks of transit time may be required for the vessel to pick up the spares and travel from Europe to West Africa once the vessel is mobilised.”
On March 14, 2024, Internet disruptions due to multiple cable cuts affected the West African Cable System, African Coast to Europe, SAT3, and MainOne, impacting Internet speed and access in the region.
