Africa’s Internet Infrastructure Costs $2M Per Repair

Three significant fibre outages have occurred since MainOne Equinix Solutions’ 2010 deployment of Nigeria’s first submarine cable infrastructure spearheaded by the private sector. Long-lasting internet outages occurred in major cities like Lagos as a result of the average repair time of six weeks or longer, which is among the longest in the world. Submarine cable repairs are usually finished in five to fifteen days worldwide, but in Africa, delays of months have become common. On November 17, 2024, the Lithuania-Sweden BCS East-West Interlink cable was damaged, but it was fixed in 11 days. In contrast, the last three fibre cuts from MainOne, which lasted an average of six weeks each, revealed a serious flaw in Africa’s digital infrastructure.

Underwater cable repairs are usually finished in between five and fifteen days worldwide, but in Africa, delays of months are now common. On November 17, 2024, the Lithuania-Sweden BCS East-West Interlink cable was damaged, but it was fixed in 11 days. In contrast, the last three fibre cuts from MainOne, which lasted an average of six weeks each, revealed a serious flaw in Africa’s digital infrastructure.

Industry professionals at the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Submarine Cables Resilience Summit in Abuja identify the following as the main challenges: 

Limited Access to Repair Ships: Africa lacks specialized ships, which causes mobilization delays, in contrast to North America and Europe, which have specially built repair ships positioned close by.

 It may take months to get government approval for repairs. In Africa, a single permit can cost up to $1 million, and still there is a need for coordination with several different agencies.

Exorbitant Repair Costs: Each repair costs about $2 million, but many operators are unable to afford to react quickly.

Regional cooperation to fund repair vessels positioned nearer to African seas.

quicker clearances from the government to reduce needless delays.

Incentives for private investment in bolstering the internet infrastructure in Africa are strategies to address the problems.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Fellow Jane Munga stated, “We need to have regional conversations on submarine cable deployment and protection in Africa.” “Africa’s internet will remain fragile without better policies.” are strategies to address the problems.

To increase the resilience of submarine cable networks worldwide, the ITU and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) have established a new advisory body. With the goal of expediting answers, the panel is co-chaired by Sandra Maximiano of Portugal and Bosun Tijani, the minister of communications for Nigeria.

Without drastic changes, however, Africa runs the risk of continuing to be the most susceptible continent in the world to internet outages—just one cable cut away from another months-long digital lockdown.