Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info
Published on 2024-03-14 17:32:35
In addition to Cameroon, the internet network is also disrupted in several countries in West Africa, according to a statement from the mobile operators’ associations.
There is more information on the causes of the disruptions affecting the internet network in Cameroon in recent days. According to the Mobile Operators Association, “internet provision has been disrupted nationwide since the morning of March 14, 2024. Indeed, the undersea fiber optic cables WACS, SAT3, and MainOne, which provide access to the countries of the West African coast to the Internet, are experiencing major incidents whose causes have not yet been determined. Technical teams are working to identify the causes and restore connectivity as soon as possible. Members of the Mobile Operators Association are currently committed to informing their clients of the situation’s progress until a complete resolution. Facing this force majeure situation impacting several African countries, the Mobile Operators Association thanks the customers for their understanding,” reads a statement issued today.
This disruption has incalculable economic consequences. “Internet shutdowns hinder growth because they have an immediate financial impact on a country’s economy. Shutdowns result in a decrease in economic activity, leading to lower profits for local businesses, fiscal revenues, and Gross Domestic Products,” explains an expert.
For businesses, it’s a devastating situation. “Without internet, there is no work. Companies already struggle to secure contracts, as being in Cameroon is a significant challenge in itself,” says a tourism company executive.
This internet network disruption is a regular occurrence in Cameroon. In September 2023, Camtel, the country’s telecoms incumbent operator managing the fiber optic network, faced a new incident that disrupted internet service. “A major incident occurred at our Batoké site (Southwest region) on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, resulting in the loss of some of our international connections. This outage led to degraded internet services for many of our clients and partners. Our teams are working to determine the cause of this disruption and restore the link as soon as possible,” the company announced in a statement on September 6, 2023.
According to internal sources at the telecoms company, the undersea WACS cable from Nigeria was affected by this outage. This situation caused a “reduction in connectivity capacities, which is why some clients have experienced a difference in internet service quality since the incident,” it was explained.
Sources revealed that this was the third incident of the same type within a month. On August 6, 2023, the company had already experienced a cable outage with WACS and Sat 3 in deep sea. However, according to sources, only WACS had been repaired before the new outage occurred at the Batoke ground station on September 5, 2023.
Albert Atangana
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
