Slow Internet Speeds in South Africa — Break in Undersea Cables
By Jan Vermeulen, MyBroadband
August 7, 2023
The West African Cable System (WACS) and the South Atlantic 3 (SAT–3) undersea cables have experienced breaks impacting connectivity to South Africa, MyBroadband has learned.
Two well-placed sources who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak to media provided details about the incident.
The breaks were reportedly caused by a rock fall in the Congo Canyon.
Based on the distance measured using the systems’ Coherent Optical Time Domain Reflectometer, the breaks occurred between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
According to network status reports, SAT–3 was cut on Sunday morning, while WACS went down later that evening.
The cable-laying ship Leon Thevenin has been mobilised for deep-water repair.
However, MarineTraffic reports the ship landed in Mombasa, India yesterday after a 10-day voyage from Cape Town.
A quick repair of the break is therefore unlikely.
MyBroadband contacted Telkom for comment. We will update the article if we receive feedback.
