Incumbent operators Angola Telecom, Gabon Telecom and many other telecommunications companies present in several markets in Africa such as the Democratic Republic of Congo have announced new disruptions in the supply of Internet access to consumers . This is the result of a new incident in the SAT3 / WACS submarine fiber optic system, almost three weeks after the last incident in January was resolved in mid-February.
According to Angola Telecom, the new incident that occurred on March 9, 2020, off the Gabonese coast, between the Gabonese capital Libreville and the Angolan city of Cacuaco, interrupted its ability to provide Internet and voice services to international.
On the Gabon side, disruptions in Internet connectivity on the SAT3 / WACS have completely limited the initial capabilities of the company in providing quality telecom services to its consumers.
SAT3 / WACS remained the only route for traffic for the public company since its restoration link, the submarine fiber optic cable ACE, has also experienced problems since February 27, 2020. Its traffic is disrupted following a cut off Mauritania.
To restore traffic to its network, the Gabonese incumbent operator has revealed that it has urgently requested, via its partner Axione and its suppliers in Nigeria, traffic capacity in a third submarine cable in Nigeria.