Internet Outage: It Will Take At Least 5 Weeks To Fully Restore Service – NCA | Technology

The National Communications Authority (NCA) says work is underway to restore undersea cables that have affected internet services in the country. 

A statement from the authority said it will take at least five (5) weeks to completely restore internet connections nationwide.

“The subsea cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five (5) weeks for full-service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations,” A portion of their NCA’s 4th update on the internet situation reads.

Mobile Network Operations are facing an internet outage due to cuts in undersea fibre optic cables, critical components for internet connectivity in Ghana.

The NCA in its earlier update said all four (4) subsea cables from Ghana to Europe through Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal are out of service – the reason for the nationwide internet outage

Below is the NCA’s full statement.

Further to our last update, the National Communications Authority (NCA) wishes to inform the public that:

1. The Authority this afternoon held a face-to-face meeting with all four (4) subsea cable landing service providers (ACE, MainOne, SAT-3 and WACS); and the three (3) mobile network operators (AT, MTN and Telecel).

2. The meeting was attended by the top management of the above providers and operators to receive updates and to discuss the way forward.

3. The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and subsea cable landing service providers continue to work with their international partners in the sub-region to progressively add more capacity for data services as it becomes available.

4. The subsea cable landing service providers have remotely identified the approximate locations of the damage and have made preparations to dispatch repair vessels to the location for physical assessment and restoration.

5. Based on the above, the subsea cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five (5) weeks for full-service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations.

6. The NCA recognizes the impact the disruptions have had on economic, academic and social activities and assures the public of its commitment to continue collaborating with relevant stakeholders. We expect some improvement in data services in the coming days while the operators work around the clock to restore full connectivity.

7. The NCA encourages MNOs, Internet Service Providers, and all other providers to actively participate in the operations of the Ghana Internet Exchange (GIX) in order to ensure an efficient local content delivery and a seamless Internet traffic exchange locally.

8. New developments will be communicated when available.