Ghanaians battling interruptions from their data service providers may have to wait for at least, another five weeks. This is because that is how long the National Communication Authority (NCA) estimates it may take for the faulty undersea cables to be restored, bringing back stable connections in the affected countries.
The NCA made this known in a press release on Saturday, March 16, 2024. This was after a meeting with the four subsea cable landing service providers (ACE, MainOne, SAT-3 and WACS). It comes three days after data services from most of the telecommunications companies shut down, impacting people and businesses in some African countries including Ghana.
South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, and Burkina Faso are among other nations bearing the brunt. NCA said the subsea cable landing service providers have remotely identified the approximate locations of the damage and are readying to dispatch repair vessels to assess them.
“Based on the above, the subsea cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five (5) weeks for full-service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations,” NCA stated. The three mobile network operators in the said meeting were AT, MTN and Telecel
The NCA added that it “recognizes the impact the disruptions have had on economic, academic and social activities and assures the public of its commitment to continue collaborating with relevant stakeholders.” On the back of this, the Authority is looking forward to “some improvement in data services in the coming days while the operators work around the clock to restore full connectivity.”
By: Kenneth Awotwe Darko
