Internet users in Kenya should expect slow connectivity to persist after two submarine cables suffered damages affecting internet traffic flow into the country.
Communications Authority Director General David Mugonyi says the two cables, Seacom and the East African Submarine System (Eassy) suffered cuts at a landing station in South Africa leading to data outage which has affected consumers in Kenya.
“Upon engaging the relevant industry players, the Authority has established that a deep-sea fibre cut had occurred on the Mtunzini teleport station, affecting a number of submarine cables
serving Kenya, including Seacom and the East African Submarine System (Eassy),” said Mugonyi.
CA now expects internet intermittency and slow speeds to remain in coming few days before services are fully restored.
At least 51 million mobile data and broadband services subscribers are likely to experience difficulties when trying to access online services.
“The Authority has directed service providers to take proactive steps to secure alternative routes for their traffic and is monitoring the situation closely to ensure that incoming and outbound internet connectivity is available,” added Mugonyi.
The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) cable, which has not been affected by the cut, is currently being utilised for local traffic flow while redundancy on the South Africa route has been activated to minimize the impact, the authority stated.
Kenya is connected to the rest of the world via six undersea cables including Seacom, EASSY,Lion2, DARE1, PEACE and TEAMS.
