Service provider declares ‘force majeure’ in internet outage in West, Central Africa
The subsea cable landing service company, MainOne, responsible for providing digital infrastructure to West and Central Africa, has declared an event of force majeure in the recent disruption of internet access within the regions.
Citing disruptions to its cable system and outlining measures to restore internet connections, the service provider in a statement explained that it was compelled to declare a force majeure following tests conducted on its cable system
“Further investigations have revealed that the fault occurred due to an external incident that resulted in a cut on our submarine cable system in the Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire, offshore the coast of West Africa. This has disrupted MainOne services south of Senegal through Nigeria. Based on the circumstances, this failure constitutes an event of force majeure, being a situation beyond our control in the ordinary and normal course of business,” a statement released by the company read in part.
In its latest update on the issue, MainOne announced that the regions remain open to internet access and for business, noting that they have collaborated with regional partners “to reroute traffic with restoration capacity, and our observations are that we have stability on our network across the region.”
The statement added, “We are actively working with our maintenance partners, vessel owners, and permitting authorities to expedite the repair of our submarine cable. We are very optimistic that our cable will be repaired as planned and services fully restored so that we can continue to operate with continued integrity of the submarine cable.”
A force majeure is a contractual clause typically present in commercial contracts, allowing a temporary suspension of contractual obligations when unforeseeable circumstances occur. These can range from natural disasters such as fires, floods, or storms to societal disruptions including war, civil unrest, and labour strikes or infrastructure failures. This term essentially refers to unforeseen interruptions or acts of God preventing contract fulfilment.
In the past week, telecommunications firms and financial institutions in Nigeria, Ghana, and other neighbouring countries bore the brunt of an internet outage on Thursday due to damage inflicted on international undersea cables that provide connectivity.
