Safaricom Announces Resumption Of Normal Internet Speed After Disruption From Undersea Cables

• Kenya was among East African region countries hit by internet outage resulting from the submarine cable failure
• Leading telecommunications firm Safaricom announced the disruption on Sunday, May 12, which affected thousands of its customers
• Safaricom activated alternative measures to keep the country connected, onboarding additional internet capacity from other deep-sea cable providers

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Kenyans can now access internet at a faster speed after about a week of downtime when the submarine cables failed.

Leading telecommunication firm Safaricom announced the resumption of full network capacity.

How Safaricom raised internet speed after undersea cable cut

In a public notice on Thursday, May 16, Safaricom said it partnered with other undersea cable providers to top up its internet capacity.

"We are happy to inform our customers and stakeholders that we have now resumed full network capacity and stability following last Sunday’s undersea cable cuts that affected some of our services.

"We have achieved this by acquiring additional capacity from other undersea cable providers," said Safaricom.

The telco said it will continue to monitor the network for stability from the onboarded additional capacity

Safaricom maintained that it will still collaborate with the affected undersea cable providers for a faster resolution, apologising to customers following the week-long slow internet.

"We work closely with impacted undersea cable suppliers for a faster resolution on the repair works. Safaricom sincerely apologise to customers who may have experienced slower than expected speeds on our network during this period," the company said.

Which submarine cable providers have resumed operations?

According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the deep-sea fibre cut happened at the Mutunzini teleport station, affecting submarine cables belonging to Seacom and East Africa Submarine System (Eassy), which supply internet to Kenya.

CA warned that repairs for cables could take a while, directing telcos to activate alternative measures to keep Kenyans connected.

On Tuesday, May 14, Seacom completed the restoration of some internet connections in Kenya, including at Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Group CTIO Liquid Intelligent Technologies Ben Roberts said the repair exercise took the efforts of engineers to troubleshoot the problem.

"Our engineers worked around the clock, troubleshooting, planning, and coming up with new ideas, to solve a complex problem," said Roberts.

What to know about submarine cable cut affecting internet.

• Subsea cables carry over 95% of global internet data and are the unsung heroes of our digital age, ensuring connectivity.
• Despite being safer and faster than satellites, sub-sea cables face several vulnerabilities that occasion breakages.
• According to NetBlocks, an internet observatory firm, several countries across East Africa coastline were affected, by the undersea cable cut, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.