U.S. Embassy in Tanzania closes on May 14-15 due to a submarine cable cut affecting network services. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The U.S. Embassy in Tanzania has announced a temporary shutdown on the 14 and 15 of May due to widespread network issues within the nation 

The embassy’s official communication indicated that operations would cease on these dates because of deteriorating network conditions stemming from a severed undersea cable that has impacted Tanzania, Kenya, and other countries in the East and Southern African region

"Due to nationwide network degradation, the embassy will be closed to the public on 14 and 15 May. Consular appointments scheduled for these days will be cancelled and rescheduled. However, the consular section will remain open for visa pickups and emergency cases involving American citizens," the embassy conveyed.

The incident of the submarine cable being cut has resulted in internet connectivity challenges for several African nations, including Kenya.

Consequently, internet speeds have diminished, leading companies such as Safaricom to alert their clientele about the ongoing service interruptions.

East African internet outage due to SEACOM and EASSy cable faults, affecting Mayotte and Tanzania. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

On 12 May, several nations in East Africa experienced significant internet outages

According to Netblocks, an internet observatory, these disruptions were due to malfunctions in the SEACOM and EASSy underwater cable systems.

The island of Mayotte, a French territory, and Tanzania were particularly affected, with substantial disruptions in internet services. Mozambique and Malawi also faced moderate levels of disruption, as reported by Netblocks.

Cloudflare, an internet service company, noted on one of its monitoring accounts that the faults in the EASSy and SEACOM cables were causing ongoing internet interruptions in countries including Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

Tanzania’s minister of information, communication, and information technology, Nape Nnauye, acknowledged, “The government had been informed by EASSy and SEACOM of disruption to the internet caused by a fault on the cables between Mozambique and South Africa.”

“There are ongoing efforts to solve the problem,” Nnauye stated. “As they continue to solve the problem, we will have very low access to internet and international voice calls,” concluded Nnauye.

Avanti and Q-KON partner to launch LEO satellite services in South Africa, enhancing connectivity and business resilience. (Image source: Avant Communications)

Avanti Communications, a global provider of satellite technology across various orbits, has launched Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity services in South Africa

In collaboration with Q-KON, a prominent satellite engineering firm in southern Africa, Avanti aims to provide seamless LEO connectivity through Eutelsat OneWeb. This partnership addresses the unique connectivity challenges in the region and is poised to enhance business operations nationwide.

Strategic satellite connectivity expansion

The collaboration between Avanti and Q-KON responds to the growing demand for LEO connectivity in South Africa. By integrating LEO services into its existing offerings, Avanti expands its multi-orbit solution, enabling the provision of both LEO and GEO services to customers immediately.

By adopting a customer-centric approach, Avanti is strategically positioned to understand and fulfill the diverse needs of enterprise customers. This partnership underscores Avanti's commitment to offering a wider range of solutions, providing customers with increased choice, flexibility, and resilience in their connectivity options.

Kyle Whitehill, CEO, Avanti Communications, commented, “We are delighted to be partnering with Q-KON to provide LEO services to our customers across South Africa. This is a strategically significant move for us in multi-orbit and we hope that this is the first of many LEO partnerships globally.

“This hybrid model gives our customers in South Africa the assurance that all their unique problems can be solved through our services. This is particularly important for our enterprise customers in South Africa where the need for resilience is key.”

Dr Dawie de Wet, CEO of Q-KON, remarked, “We are pleased to support Avanti with our Eutelsat OneWeb customer-centric services, made possible by our proven Smart Satellite Service technologies developed for our Twoobii GEO portfolio. We also look forward to supporting Avanti with our end-to-end and turn-key project supply, delivery and support capabilities.”

Avanti has established a robust operational base in South Africa, boasting advanced infrastructure located in Johannesburg. With over a fifth of its workforce dedicated to operations in Africa, Avanti demonstrates a steadfast commitment to solidifying its foothold in the region. Avanti aims to elevate Africa to become its primary revenue driver within the next two to three years, showcasing its ambitious growth objectives within the continent.

Angola Cables & Camtel unite for enhanced digital services across West Africa, bolstering connectivity & business prospects. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Angola Cables and Camtel have joined forces to enhance digital and connectivity services across Cameroon and the broader West African region 

Their collaborative efforts, aimed at cultivating business prospects in the area, are geared towards enhancing redundancy, network resilience, and the quality of service (QoS) on both national and international scales.

By leveraging Angola Cables' extensive backhaul network, which includes connections with key subsea cable systems such as WACS, SACS, and Monet, alongside Camtel's access to SAIL (South Atlantic Inter Link), the partnership will facilitate an expanded range of capacity offerings for enterprise clients, thereby improving traffic accessibility to both local and regional networks.

Camtel CEO Judith Yah Sunday Epse Achidi said, “Our strategic intent is to build on the robust backhaul connectivity of the Angola Cables network, and the existing interconnections we have in place with other submarine cables connecting the region and the world, to provide flexible and secure value added services for our clients and businesses.”

“For users, the partnership will help to secure connectivity, trade, boost economies, and help expand as well as grow businesses across the region,” said Fernando Fernandes, country manager of Angola Cables subsidiary TelCables Nigeria.