MTN Group’s Bayobab is working with its partners on the coordination of repair work to damaged underwater digital communication cables along the West Coast of Africa.

As confirmed by their consortium partners, on 14 March 2024 four subsea cables were cut. They are WACS, ACE, SAT3 and MainOne.

Bayobab is also working with partners to mitigate the impact of the damage by rerouting traffic and enabling more circuits.

ACE and WACS have jointly initiated the repair process by mobilising a cable ship for a collaborative repair effort. While investigation and repair efforts are underway, Bayobab’s strategy focuses on successfully rerouting traffic, leveraging our extensive network, and collaborating with industry partners.

Our network resiliency allows for the swift activation of new cables, facilitating faster rerouting and bolstering network resilience. By activating new cables, we quickly increase interconnectivity and establish alternative routes.

Additionally, we are working with the cable consortiums and partners to enhance interconnection along both the west and east coasts, with further interconnections between WACS and Equiano, and the introduction of the end-to-end connection between WACS on the west coast and EASSy on the east coast.

We have already made progress in restoring service in some affected regions and remain committed to achieving full recovery as expeditiously as possible.

Recognising the critical importance of network reliability, we work to continuously strengthen our infrastructure to mitigate future disruptions.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and patience during this period.