The need for redundant telecommunications routes along Africa’s west coast is becoming increasingly evident after the Sat-3 system went down for the second time in a fortnight on Tuesday, disrupting Internet services in SA.
A fault between Accra in Ghana and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire caused the system to fail on 21 January. This time around, a power failure occurred on the section of the cable connecting Lagos in Nigeria and Abidjan.
“During planned maintenance by the Sat-3 consortium … a suspected power failure occurred … at 8.21am SA time which has seriously impacted Telkom traffic,” Telkom said in a statement. “The Sat-3 maintenance technicians are busy rerouting restorable traffic. This process commenced at 9.59am.”
Sat-3 connects SA with European cable systems in Portugal. — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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