Fibre network operator Seacom says it has restored service to customers after completing a subsea repair on its East Africa S1 cable.
In mid-May, parts of SA and East Africa experienced internet disruptions after a break in undersea cables.
The continent has experienced a number of disruptions to service since the start of 2024. Companies such as Seacom, however, tend to have mechanisms in place to route internet and other communication traffic to alternative cables to minimise the disruption for consumers.
“In the wake of unfortunate disruptions to our service, we have moved swiftly to mitigate the impact of the fault and have worked around the clock to complete all necessary repairs to our infrastructure,” said Prenesh Padayachee, group chief digital and operations officer at Seacom.
Trawler activity
The initial fault occurred on May 12, near the SA coastal town of Mtunzini. This fault was caused by trawler activity in the area and with Seacom customers from SA, Mozambique and Tanzania experiencing temporary interruptions in connectivity.
Repairs began on May 14 with a cable-laying ship, the Léon Thévenin, sailing from Cape Town to conduct repairs on the cable as well as the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) cable, which also suffered a fault.
The company says cable restoration is not only about the physical repair of the cable.
“It is also about ensuring proper restoration of individual client services back to the original operating characteristics prior to the cable break.”
The physical repair of the subsea cable was completed on May 31 and the process to restore and test individual client services was completed thereafter.
Seacom also reported that its repair operations in the highly contentious Red Sea, where a fault occurred in February, are ongoing. Its “trusted repair partners have made significant progress with their mobilisation strategy.” Projections estimate those repairs would be completed early in the third quarter of 2024.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.