Two submarine cables that link South Africa and Kenya were recently destroyed, resulting in significant internet outages for telecommunications providers in Kenya and Uganda. The Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy) and Seacom cables had malfunctions that caused several days’ worth of disruptions to network services.
After the cable repairs were finished, Safaricom, a significant telecom operator in Kenya, stated on May 16th, 2024, that network services will once again be available to its users. In a similar vein, Airtel Uganda declared that it has returned to “near normal” internet service levels.
On May 14th, Orange Marine’s cable repair ship, Léon Thévenin, left Cape Town Harbor and headed for the fault areas. It was anticipated that the vessel, furnished with specialist instruments for submerged cable maintenance, would reach the location on May 18.
This event brings to light the weakness of underwater cable systems, which are essential to the availability of internet access worldwide. Three underwater cables in the Red Sea that link Southeast Asia and Africa to Europe were also destroyed in February 2024, which resulted in serious disruptions.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen, who possess a substantial chunk of the nation’s telecommunications network, including a component of TeleYemen, the country’s international carrier, were identified as the cause of the damage to the Red Sea cable.
One of the broken cables, the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) cable, is allegedly too damaged to be repaired since the owners of the cable are under criminal investigation for their ties to the Houthi rebels.
The AAE-1 underwater cable consortium, which includes TeleYemen, has reportedly received a request for information from the Yemeni government on their ownership and corporate dealings.
Members of the consortium have been alerted to the possibility of criminal prosecution should they disregard the inquiry.
The state of affairs in Yemen serves as a reminder of the difficulties in maintaining and repairing vital infrastructure, particularly in areas where there is political unrest and conflict.
The security and dependability of international internet connectivity are called into question by the possibility that terrorist organizations are in charge of the telecommunications infrastructure.
Undersea cable systems need to be protected and maintained in order to provide continuous internet access and enable worldwide connectivity, especially as the world grows more and more dependent on digital communication.
Cloudflare underscored the Internet’s dependence on submarine cables almost two months after the continent of Africa was severely affected by the massive Internet outage that occurred on March 14, 2024.
Over 90% of all data traffic between continents is handled by these cables, hence Cloudflare claims that the event highlighted their vital importance.
Despite popular misconception, the majority of Internet usage does not come via satellite networks.
There are now 1,444 landings that are either underway or completed on 529 operating undersea cables that span 1.3 million kilometers globally.
Roberts highlights that obtaining hyperscale cloud services in the region requires connecting Kenya to South Africa.
Prominent entities such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle have pledged to introduce public cloud services in that region. The recent damage to underwater cables highlights the importance of these cables for internet access and the digital economy, underscoring the need for diversification even as the current connectivity issue is being rectified.
A submerged cable: what is it?
Submarine or submerged communications cables are cables buried in the ocean floor or on the sea floor that carry data, including internet and phone traffic, to create telecommunications links between continents.
In contrast to satellite technology, which uses specialized cable layer ships to send communication signals to unwired locations, subsea cables are buried in the ocean.
For security, they are buried beneath the beach closer to the coast.
Since these cables are the primary source of internet connectivity for all of the continents, damage to them could result in widespread internet disruptions.
As of early 2024, there are expected to be over 570 undersea cables worldwide, according to U.S. telecom market research firm TeleGeography, and these cables are said to be responsible for 90% of Africa’s internet requirements.
Almost all of the world’s subsea cables are privately held by investors or telecom companies.
Internet behemoths like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon sponsor a large number of them, according to a 2016 TeleGeography research.
INTERNEST OUTAGE
It is reported that three cuts in three of the submarine cables supporting the region’s connectivity and a malfunctioning cable system are to blame for the present outage occurring in East Africa.
On Sunday, Ben Roberts, Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of Liquid Telecom, disclosed issues with the Seacom and Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy).
A 10,000-kilometer network of underwater cables called EASSy runs around Africa’s east and south shores.
One of the largest capacity systems on the continent connects South Africa and Sudan via landing sites in Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Mozambique.
Meanwhile, running around the southern coasts of the continent is Africa’s first broadband submarine cable system, Seacom, situated in South Africa.
It is a 17,000-kilometer cable that connects South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Djibouti.
Roberts noted on Sunday that there were additional unrepaired cuts in two other important submarine cables in the Red Sea: the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) and the Europe India Gateway (EIG).
Connecting the United Kingdom, Portugal, Gibraltar, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and India is the 15,000-kilometer EIG, while the 25,000-kilometer AAE-1 connects Southeast Asia to Europe through Egypt.
Large ISPs and telecom businesses typically rely on numerous cable systems so they may reroute traffic in the event of an incident and guarantee continuous service.
This clarifies why having many subsea networks disrupted is so significant.
According to Kenya’s Communications Authority, the Seacom and EASSy subsea cable channels are impacted by a deep-sea fiber cut that occurred at the Mtunzini teleport station in South Africa.
On Monday, CA announced that it is actively observing the situation to guarantee internet access both in and out of the country. It is also directing service providers to establish alternate routes for their traffic.
“The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) cable, which has not been affected by the cut, is currently being utilized for local traffic flow while redundancy on the South Africa route has been activated to minimize the impact,” said the statement.
WHAT ACTUALLY CAUSES DAMAGE?
In the past, landslides and earthquakes as well as human activities like fishing and harboring in shallow waters close to the coast have been linked to submarine cable faults.
A possible underwater rock slid off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire in March, cutting off many submarine cables that served the West African continent.
Three undersea cables were severed in the Red Sea in February 2012 as a result of a ship dragging its anchor.
Submarine cable damage has also been linked to other circumstances, including as missile launching, particularly in the Red Sea due to the ongoing war in Yemen.
The Houthi rebels have denied any knowledge of the accusations made by the Yemeni government that they are targeting the subsea cables in the Red Sea.
Rather, the Houthis attribute the destruction to US and British military personnel stationed nearby.
