According to Internet monitoring groups, Internet access was affected in multiple East African countries on Sunday because of problems with the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and SEACOM cables.
NetBlocks, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, “Network data indicate Internet connectivity problems in and around several East African countries.”
Tanzania and the French Island of Mayotte were heavily affected by the Internet issues, while Mozambique and Malawi experienced a moderate impact.
Cloudflare also confirmed on X that there were ongoing Internet disruptions in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
Earlier, Safaricom, the largest telecoms operator in Kenya, announced that it had activated backup measures to lessen service interruption and keep subscribers connected until the cable is fully restored.
However, the telecom operator mentioned that subscribers might notice slower Internet speeds.
In March, there were reports of Internet outages in West African countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, as well as South Africa.
The outages were caused by damage to four undersea cables off the west coast of Africa, which disrupted connectivity across the continent.
The affected cables were the West Africa Cable System, MainOne, South Atlantic 3, and ACE sea cables, which are crucial for telecommunications data.
According to Chris Wood, the CEO of West Indian Ocean Cable Company, the collective repair costs for the four digital infrastructure companies affected could be around $8m.
In March, he explained that the cable firms may need to budget between $1m and $2m for the complete restoration of a single undersea cable, depending on the severity of the damage incurred.
