List Of Countries Hit By Major Internet Outage After Undersea Cables Failure

• The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) confirmed an undersea cable cut that disrupted internet connectivity in the country
• The regulator noted that the submarine cable failure happened at the Mtunzini teleport station, cutting connectivity across East Africa and other countries
• According to NetBlocks, an internet observatory firm, several countries across East Africa coastline were affected, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Kenya is among the countries that have been hit by internet outages in Africa.

This followed a failure of undersea cables that supply internet to Kenya and other countries across the East African coastline.

Which internet cables were affected?

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) revealed that the submarine internet cable cut happened at the Mtunzini teleport station, affecting Seacom and East African Submarine System (Eassy), which supplies internet to the affected countries.

"A redundancy on the South Africa route has been activated to minimise the impact of the disruption," said CA.

According to an internet firm NetBlocks, internet connectivity across various East African countries remained diminished on Sunday, May 12.

"Metrics show internet connectivity remains diminished in several East African countries after Sunday's subsea cable network disruption, leading to continued slowdowns for many users," NetBlocks tweeted.

Countries like Tanzania and the French island of Mayotte were badly hit while Kenya underwent restoration.

Below is the list of the affected countries and the impact of the disruption.

List of countries that faced internet outage, impact

1. Tanzania

Tanzania experienced high disruption in internet connectivity following the submarine cable cut.

The internet outage reported a low of 29% from the current connection of 64%.

2. Mayotte

The French Island of Mayotte was the second worst-hit country with a high impact on internet connectivity.

The country reported a low of 33%, down from the current 84%.

3. Mozambique

Internet outage in Malawi reported a medium impact following the Sunday undersea cable cut incident.

The country posted a low of 60% from the normal 70% connection.

4. Malawi

Malawi experienced an internet outage, posting a low of 69% from 70%.

NetBlocks classified the country's internet outage impact from the undersea cable failure as medium.

5. Burundi

Burindi experienced a low impact in internet connectivity from Sunday, May 12.

The country registered an internet outage low of 74%.

6. Madagascar

Madagascar registered a low impact in internet connectivity from the submarine cable failure.

The country posted a 76% low in internet connectivity outage.

7. Comoros

NetBlocks classified Comoros Islands under low impact felt from the internet connectivity disruptions.

The internet outage stood at a low of 81%.

8. Rwanda

Rwanda is the last country to be categorised under low impact on internet disruptions.

The submarine internet cable outage saw the country register 81% low.

9. Uganda and Somalia

According to NetBlocks, some countries were undergoing restoration from the impact of the undersea cable cut.

These countries are Uganda and Somalia, which registered a low of 83% and 84%, respectively, in internet connectivity outages.

9. Kenya

Kenya was hit by the undersea internet cable outage but reported restoration since Sunday, May 12.

The country's connectivity outage dropped to 89% as the government directed internet service providers to employ alternative measures to keep it connected.

"The recovery process for the affected submarine cables which deliver internet is underway. However, individuals and corporate consumers should expect internet intermittency and slow speed in the coming few days before services are fully restored," read CA's statement in part.

How Kenyan telcos are managing internet outages

Safaricom, Kenya's leading telco, said it has activated measures to keep its customers connected.

However, the internet service provider reiterated that the measures provided could cause reduced internet speed.

The company further noted that it will be pursuing additional capacity in collaboration with other unaffected undersea cable partners.

What to know about internet outages across Africa

• Internet service providers apologised to their customers following disruptions, noting that they have measures in place that will also keep their customers connected as they await the full restoration of the cable.
• Kenyans shared their experience, with some demanding compensation after wasting their money buying data bundles.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke