Undersea cable break crashes SA internet

Breaks in cables laid deep under the ocean’s surface crashed the internet for users in South Africa for much of Thursday.

Vodacom spokesman Byron Kennedy said: “Multiple undersea cable failures between South Africa and Europe are currently impacting SA’s network providers, including Vodacom,” as reported by TechCentral.

Four cables along the west coast of Africa have been damaged in suspected undersea incidents, according to Microsoft. 

The cable breaks have reduced the total capacity of Microsoft’s Azure data centre regions in SA, namely South Africa North (located in Gauteng) and South Africa West (Western Cape).

It is the second time in seven months that cable breaks along the continent’s coastline have severely impacted internet services in SA.

More recently, on 24 February, the Seacom cable that connects South Africa to Europe was severed in the Red Sea, possibly by a ship’s anchor. Repairs to this cable have been hampered by conflicts in the region.

Briefly News was quick to report on Facebook comments that made light of the situation, providing alternative causes for the day’s connectivity problems:

·         Joe Black: “ANC is failing even under the sea.”

·         Chris Joubert: “Loadshedding, water-shedding and now internet-shedding.”

·         Malome Lesiba: “Vodacom is relieved.”

·         Brian Stevens: “Where is that SA Navy submarine?”

By staff writer

Pictured above: Internet users and companies across SA had trouble accessing internet services.

Source: File

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