Internet outage in Africa: Ivory Coast very affected, banking operations blocked
While all of West Africa is affected by Internet outages, with access disrupted since Thursday March 14, after the rupture of at least four submarine fiber optic cables, Côte d'Ivoire is one of the most affected countries, with banking operations completely blocked, in particular.
At this time, the cause of the problem is not yet known.
In Ivory Coast, internet access has been severely disrupted.
Here, a young Ivorian looks at his cell phone in Abidjan, April 21, 2020. (illustration) © Issouf Sanogo / AFP
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Ivory Coast
is one of the countries most affected by this giant outage
: the Internet only works partially there, and very slowly.
Fiber at Orange is not working for the moment, but the messages on mobile applications have returned, reports our correspondent in Abidjan,
Bineta Diagne
.
Throughout the day on Thursday, it was impossible to communicate on social networks, impossible to order a VTC driver, and also impossible to carry out traditional banking operations, due to “
the absence of compensation via the Bcéao
”, indicates a source close to the file.
“
There were no exchanges between the banks
,” continues this source.
The entire daily life of Ivorians is slowing down.
In private life, just like in business, everyone depends on the Internet.
70% to 80% of users subscribe to Orange and MTN, therefore being at the heart of the problem.
A rush took place on Thursday during the day towards the points of sale of the operator Moov, the only operator to escape this outage.
“Unprecedented situation” for the government
We currently have no explanation for the origin of this incident.
There is no certainty at this time about the cause of the problem.
But two hypotheses stand out, according to the president of the telecom firm Tactis Stéphane Lelux, who counts among his clients one of the consortiums that own the cables concerned.
00:49
“A boat or an earthquake can explain the breakage of fiber optic cables,” according to the president of the telecom firm Tactis Stéphane Lelux
Justine Fontaine
On the side of the Ivorian government, we are talking about an “
unprecedented situation
”, comments a government source.
At least
four submarine cables
were damaged, the cables of Orange suppliers and MTN were affected.
Added to this are the “back-ups” of the Main One company.
The MTN supplier was the first to be impacted, on Tuesday: its two major cables on land were cut during road works, said a company official.
In an emergency, it was necessary to switch all traffic to the networks used by Moov.
Expensive alternative solutions and lengthy repairs
At government level, a crisis unit has been set up.
We must look for alternatives to get around this problem while repairs are carried out.
But it can be very expensive, explains a source.
As for the repair, it may take a little time.
Because you must first locate the damaged area at sea before intervening.
It then takes several days for repairs.
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