Internet Cuts and the Call for Digital Resilience in Ghana

Abraham Selby urges Ghana to enhance digital resilience after undersea cable issues caused internet disruptions, as detailed in News Ghana.By Abraham Selby, News Ghana
April 4, 2024

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers that communicate with each other using standard protocols. It enables the exchange of data and information across vast distances, allowing users to access a wide array of resources, services, and applications. The Internet facilitates various activities such as communication, information retrieval, e-commerce, entertainment, and collaboration. Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, is credited with the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989, which greatly popularized the use of the Internet.

Africa’s Internet landscape is rising with increased mobile penetration and growing tech hubs, and the continent is poised for a digital revolution. However, this progress is constantly threatened by a critical vulnerability – its reliance on undersea cables. Recent Internet disruptions in Ghana, caused by damage to undersea cables, highlight the urgent need for a more robust and resilient digital infrastructure in Africa.

Ghana’s Undersea Cable Conundrum
Ghana, a West African nation with a burgeoning digital economy, has been particularly affected by Internet disruptions caused by undersea cable damage. The country relies heavily on undersea cables for its Internet connectivity, with several major cables landing on its shores, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS) and the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable systems. However, despite investments in improving Internet infrastructure, Ghana continues to grapple with frequent disruptions, much to the frustration of businesses, educational institutions, and individual users.

In recent years, Ghana has experienced several high-profile Internet outages due to undersea cable damage. These disruptions have had far-reaching consequences, impacted various sectors of the economy, and disrupted essential services. For example, in 2020, a cable cut off the coast of Benin caused widespread Internet outages in Ghana, highlighting the vulnerability of the country’s Internet infrastructure to external factors.

Factors Contributing to Africa’s Vulnerability to Undersea Cable Disruptions

There are several factors contributing to Africa’s vulnerability to undersea cable disruptions. Some of these factors include the following:

Limited Infrastructure: Africa has a comparatively lower number of undersea cable landing points compared to other continents. This means that damage to a single cable can have a cascading effect, disrupting Internet access across vast regions.

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