Internet outage in Ghana and other African countries could last for months

Ghanaian

Millions of internet users in Ghana and other African countries are facing the prospect of prolonged disruption to their services, with repair efforts expected to take weeks or even months, following damage to undersea cables off the continent's west coast, Bloomberg reports.

Eight West African countries, along with users in South Africa, are experiencing major connectivity issues for the second

Read full articleconsecutive day. The disruption stems from damage to four sub-sea cables, the cause of which remains unknown, although seabed shifting is considered a likely possibility.

According to a spokesperson from internet analytics firm Cloudflare, the duration of repairs could vary significantly depending on the extent of damage, the specific repairs needed, and local weather conditions. The deployment of repair ships is also contingent upon various factors, including ownership of the affected cables.

NetBlocks, an internet watchdog, reported significant disruption to connectivity in eight West African nations, with Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Benin among the most severely affected. Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon are also experiencing varying degrees of impact. Additionally, several companies have reported service disruptions in South Africa.