MainOne Announces Undersea Cable Damage: Internet Outage Repair Estimated at Five Weeks
In a recent statement released on Friday, MainOne, a major provider of internet services in Nigeria and various parts of sub-Saharan Africa, revealed that the repair of an undersea cable cut causing widespread internet outages may take up to five weeks to complete.
The company, known for its extensive internet infrastructure serving western and southern Africa, provided insight into the undersea cable cut and outlined its efforts to address the issue. According to MainOne's website statement, their "MainOne submarine cable carries a significant portion of the international traffic into West Africa and provides services to multiple countries, hence the magnitude of the impact."
MainOne highlighted its maintenance agreement with the Atlantic Cable Maintenance and Repair Agreement (ACMA), stating that it facilitates repair services for the submarine cable.
The repair process, as outlined by the service provider, involves several steps. Initially, a vessel will be tasked with retrieving the necessary spares for repair before sailing to the location of the fault to conduct the necessary work. Skilled technicians will then splice the affected section of the submarine cable after it is pulled onto the ship.
Following the repair, joints will be meticulously inspected and tested for defects before the submarine cable is lowered back to the seabed and guided into position. MainOne estimates that the entire repair process could span approximately five weeks.
The statement elaborated on the timeline, explaining, "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."
As the repair efforts unfold, MainOne reassures customers and stakeholders that it is diligently working to restore internet connectivity to the affected regions. However, the estimated timeline underscores the complexity of repairing undersea cable damage and highlights the significant impact such disruptions can have on internet services across multiple countries.
