"Massive Internet Outage Sparked Economic Disruption and Citizen Frustration"

Monrovia-Internet users across several African countries recently encountered what appears to be the first widespread internet outage since the continent embraced widespread connectivity. Citizens and businesses, heavily reliant on internet services for revenue generation, found themselves dismayed as the internet vanished from the African landscape for nearly 24 hours.

During this tumultuous period, significant revenue losses were incurred across various sectors. Countries such as Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Niger were particularly affected by this disruptive internet breakdown.

The outage sparked a wave of frustration among citizens, who perceived it as a significant setback to modern-day life. Many individuals expressed astonishment at experiencing a day without internet access, an inconvenience that for some felt akin to enduring a week without it.

The absence of internet connectivity rendered essential services such as browsing and mobile money transactions unavailable, plunging entire communities into a state of distress. Families separated by geographical boundaries found themselves unable to connect with their loved ones abroad, exacerbating the sense of isolation caused by the situation.

As affected nations work to restore normalcy and address the underlying causes of this unprecedented outage, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the critical role that internet infrastructure plays in the socio-economic fabric of modern societies. Efforts to bolster resilience and redundancy within Africa's digital infrastructure are likely to gain renewed urgency in the wake of this disruptive event.

Dozens of African countries, including Nigeria, were rocked with internet service disruption after the undersea cable failed in Ivory Coast.

Some of the affected countries are in Western and Central Africa, including Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Niger.

The West Africa Cable System, MainOne and ACE sea cables  arteries for telecommunications data were all affected on Thursday.

This led to widespread internet service disruption across the countries.Microsoft also reported network latency issues in its South Africa North and South Africa West locations.

Microsoft said, “Starting at 10:30 UTC on 14 Mar 2024, customers using Azure Services in South Africa North and South Africa West may experience increased network latency or packet drops when accessing their resources.

“We have determined that multiple fibre cables on the West Coast of Africa — WACS, MainOne, SAT3, ACE — have been impacted which reduced total capacity supporting our regions in South Africa.