Seacom, a major telecommunications company, reported a service outage on its subsea cable system in the Red Sea region on February 24th, 2024. The segment of cable running from Mombasa, Kenya, to Zafarana, Egypt, has been impacted, and Seacom is still unable to confirm the cause of the disruption.
The company has stated that other cables in the area have also been affected. The region’s geopolitical sensitivity and ongoing tensions have made it a challenging environment for maintenance and repair operations. Seacom is working with its cable repair partner to assess the feasibility of repair in the region and establish restoration timelines, which will be communicated to clients.
Seacom has assured its clients that it still carries traffic on its cable for transmission and IP services between Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. It has also rerouted all other IP-based services destined for Europe and other regions via alternative routes on the Equiano, PEACE, and WACS cable systems to ensure clients remain operational, albeit with some latency in their internet communications. Although the disruption has impacted some of its clients’ businesses across East and Southern Africa, Seacom has been working diligently to ensure the continuity of its services.
Earlier in February, Seacom had issued a precautionary warning that any disruptions to the cable system regarding repairs could be impacted due to the instability in the region. Despite the challenges, Seacom continues to work tirelessly to ensure that its clients receive the best possible service, and it remains committed to providing excellent telecommunications services.