internet outage SA
Here is what you need to know about the internet issues. Image by flickr.com

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Why was there an internet outage in SA today?

According to a report by MyBroadBand multiple outages on undersea cables near Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire are causing downtime.

14-03-24 17:09
internet outage SA
Here is what you need to know about the internet issues. Image by flickr.com

South Africa experienced a MASSIVE internet outage TODAY. 

MASSIVE INTERNET OUTAGE – HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 

According to a report by MyBroadBand multiple outages on undersea cables near Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire are causing downtime. The West Africa Cable System (WACS), the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), and other cables are affected.

The report futhermore states that WIOCC group business development head Darren Bedford confirmed that multiple undersea cables operating along Africa’s West coast are experiencing outages.

‘UNDERSEA CABLES ARE EXPERIENCING OUTAGES’ 

“Vodacom has also confirmed the undersea cable outages.

“Certain customers are currently experiencing intermittent connectivity issues due to multiple undersea cable failures affecting SA’s network providers, including us. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,”- Vodacom said on X. 

Tracking services like downdetector also saw a significant jump in reports during the day.

THE OUTAGE STARTED AROUND MIDDAY 

The outage started around 12:30 on Thursday, 14 March 2024.

The affected services include FNB, LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), and Xbox.

Many broadband users, including Mweb, Openserve, Seacom, Telkom, Vodacom, Vumatel, and Vox subscribers, also reported problems with their Internet access.

Last year, internet disruptions were reported as two undersea communication cables snapped.

INTERNET DISRUPTION CAUSED BY TWO SNAPPED CABLES 

These two cables are critical for network operators in South Africa. It snapped on the same day on 6 August 2023. 

Some websites might load slowly, and others not at all. Repairs on the cables are expected to be completed next month.

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