Latest news with #EASSy
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How are undersea cables repaired? A look inside the WACS operation
Major internet issues have South Africans across the country following reports of undersea cable failures. Image: Unsplash Don't send angry emails to your ISPs just yet, because if your internet connection has been feeling a little slow, it might be because the West Africa Cable System (WACS) has been offline since June 1. WACS is a key internet artery linking South Africa to Europe and is reportedly offline due to emergency maintenance expected to last over two weeks. The issue is a faulty branching unit near Swakopmund, Namibia, which supplies power to sections of the cable, resulting in slower speeds and connectivity issues, particularly in parts of the Western Cape, as providers reroute traffic through alternative routes like Seacom and EASSy on the East Coast. Emergency maintenance began at 2am on June 1 and is scheduled to end by 8am on June 16, weather permitting. During this time, the affected stretch of WACS is offline, meaning no data traffic can flow through it. After replacement, engineers must run post-repair signal tests from South Africa to Lisbon and onward to London before declaring the system operational. It's worth noting that the cable didn't break, but it's still useful to know how these fixes are done How are undersea cables repaired? Do you know how, when you have a problem with your laptop, you call IT and they tell you to switch your device off and on again? While this may work for computers and laptops, the same thing cannot be said for undersea cables. Submarine cable repairs are high-stakes, logistically intense operations, as these cables can stretch thousands of kilometres across oceans, which makes repair work highly specialised, time-consuming, and dependent on good weather. This is how it goes down, according to One Step Power. 1. When a cable goes down, engineers first use signal tests to identify the break. A pulse of light is sent through the fibre. Under normal circumstances, the light travels uninterrupted, but when there's a break, the light reflects. From this, engineers can pinpoint the problem area. For power cables, they sometimes use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with fault detection tools. 2. Once the damage is located, a specialised cable repair ship is sent to the area. These ships are fitted with dynamic positioning systems that keep them steady in rough seas. They're also stocked with replacement cable that is usually around 5–10 km. Newer vessels can carry up to 9,000 km. 3. In shallow water, ROVs with cameras and robotic arms can grab the cable and bring it up. However, in deep water where pressure is too high for ROVs, a deep-sea fishing hook called a grapnel is used to cut and haul the cable ends to the surface. These ends are either brought onboard or floated with buoys until the ship can complete the fix. Once on board, the cable is moved into a repair room, where engineers clean, splice, and test it. The process can take up to 16 hours. The repaired section is then lowered back down, often in a hairpin or omega loop to accommodate the extra cable length needed for the operation. In this case, Openserve confirmed that a repair ship successfully located and recovered the faulty branching unit. Engineers onboard confirmed that the cable itself is intact. How WACS works and why it matters WACS is a 14,530-km-long submarine fibre optic cable that runs from Portugal to South Africa. It has landing points in 11 countries, including Namibia, Angola, and Ghana. It has a design capacity of 14.5 Tbps and includes dedicated express lanes, which are direct high-speed links between South Africa and Europe, making it a vital resource for ISPs and content delivery networks (CDNs). When WACS is compromised: Traffic must be rerouted, often through longer or more congested paths. Latency increases, especially for international content. Regional imbalances emerge — Cape Town ISPs are more affected than Gauteng-based ones, due to routing differences. Once the faulty branching unit is replaced, it will be sent to the supplier for analysis to determine what went wrong. While the cause remains unclear, operators hope no further complications arise during testing. If all goes well, normal traffic should resume by Sunday. IOL
Broadcast Pro
15-04-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Somalia licenses Starlink to boost nationwide internet access
This marks Starlinks 19th market entry in Africa, following its recent expansion into Niger in March 2025. Somalia has licensed SpaceXs Starlink to operate as an Internet Service Provider (ISP across the country), marking a major step toward expanding connectivity in one of Africas most underserved digital landscapes. The announcement was made during a ceremony in Mogadishu attended by government officials and Starlink representatives. Minister of Communications and Technology Mohamed Adan Moalin highlighted the move as part of Somalias push for digital inclusion. We are pleased to welcome Starlink to our country. This step supports our goal of ensuring all Somalis, wherever they are, have access to affordable and far-reaching Internet services, he stated. While Somalia currently benefits from undersea Internet cables such as the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Djibouti Africa Regional Express (DARE1), many rural and nomadic populations remain offline due to limited terrestrial infrastructure. Starlinks satellite technology, powered by a network of low-Earth orbit satellites, offers a practical solution by delivering high-speed Internet without relying on ground-based systems. The introduction of Starlink is expected to significantly impact key sectors like education, healthcare and commerce by providing more reliable and widespread Internet access. However, pricing remains a concern in the Somali market, with monthly subscription costs ranging between $80 and $120posing a challenge in a country where average annual income is under $500. Starlinks launch in Somalia adds to its growing footprint in Africa, following recent expansions in Niger and Liberia. As the continent continues to confront low Internet penetration rates, satellite-based services are seen as critical to bridging the digital divide and accelerating socio-economic development.
