Voice And Data Services Are Back Following Undersea Cable Cuts — NCC

The phone and data services that were impacted by underwater cable cutting near the shores of Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire have been restored, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Rueben Muoka, the NCC Director of Public Affairs, stated in a statement on Monday that services are now back up to about 90% of their maximum capacity.

“Following the disruption on March 14, 2024, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, we are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90% of their peak utilization capacities,” the statement read.

“All operators who were impacted by the cuts have taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts, and have thus recovered approximately 90% of their peak utilisation capacities.”

According to a spokesman for the NCC, mobile network operators have assured the commission that, while underwater cable repairs are being completed, data and voice services would continue to function as best they can. They have also activated backup connections to restore normalcy to the situation.

It expressed gratitude to telecom customers for their understanding and tolerance throughout the outage brought on by the underwater fiber cuts.

A subsea cable cut in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cote D'Ivoire, West Africa, has left bank and telecom customers stuck since Thursday, paralyzing digital transactions and internet connections. A subsea cable cut in the Atlantic Ocean has been blamed for the network outage by mobile network operators such as MTN and some banks.

The underwater cable cut that has caused internet service disruptions in Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Senegal, and other West African and East African countries during the past four days may take up to two weeks to fix, according to MainOne, a submarine cable firm.