Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, has restored full internet service following a multi-day outage caused by a damaged undersea fibre optic cable.
The outage, which began last Sunday, impacted internet speeds and connectivity across East African countries.
The telco among others addressed the issue by securing additional capacity from other undersea cable providers.
“We’re happy to announce our network is back to full capacity and stability,” Safaricom said in a statement. “We appreciate our engineers’ efforts to keep the country connected during this time.”
A big thanks to all our engineers who have worked hard to keep us all connected. https://t.co/PE2oHmKsKL
— Peter Ndegwa (@PeterNdegwa_) May 16, 2024
Potential Delays
However, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) acknowledges there may be temporary slowdowns while the backlog of data traffic clears.
“Mobile network operators and internet service providers worked diligently to restore service,” said CA Director General David Mugonyi.
“We appreciate their efforts and the patience of Kenyan consumers. While internet access is nearly back to normal, it may take some time to clear the backlog created by the outage.”
Undersea fibre optic cables are critical infrastructure for global internet connectivity. They transmit vast amounts of data traffic across oceans, connecting countries and continents. Damage to these cables can disrupt internet service for millions of users.
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