Last Thursday, a significant internet disruption affected various countries across Africa, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The outages, which created substantial inconvenience for millions, have seen partial restoration in Liberia and South Africa.

Cloudflare Radar noted a specific pattern in the disruptions, suggesting a north-to-south impact trajectory. Experts speculate that undersea cable damage, potentially caused by debris or seabed instability, could be responsible. On land, cables may suffer from accidental or intentional harm.

The consequences of these outages have been severe, especially for individuals and businesses reliant on online operations. In Ivory Coast, connectivity plummeted to about 4%, with similar reductions in Liberia, Benin, and Ghana, as reported by Netblocks.

Companies like Vodacom in South Africa acknowledged the connectivity issues, attributing them to undersea cable failures. Nigeria's Lagos also reported a fault in the MainOne cable system. The disruptions have affected a range of services, from basic internet access and social media to international banking and voice calls.

Authorities in affected countries, including the Liberian government and Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA), have confirmed the incidents, linking them to issues with undersea cables like the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE).

As restoration efforts continue, the impact of these outages highlights the critical dependence on stable internet infrastructure for both personal and professional livelihoods across the continent.