MainOne, a leading Digital Infrastructure Service Provider, has disclosed that the repair of recently damaged subsea cables, which caused significant Internet disruptions in Nigeria and several other West African countries, will take up to eight weeks.
The disruption, which occurred on March 14, led to a widespread internet outage affecting multiple network services across major sectors in the region. The affected undersea cables included the West Africa Cable System (WACS), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, and SAT3.
Initially, MainOne estimated that repairing its undersea submarine cables might take one to two weeks. However, in a statement released on Monday, the company acknowledged that the repair process would be more extensive than anticipated due to the extent of the cable damage.
Despite this setback, MainOne emphasized its commitment to restoring network access in the region. The company has already restored services and facilitated regional interconnection within the past week to ensure stability in the digital ecosystem across West Africa.
MainOne is actively collaborating with maintenance partners, vessel owners, and permitting authorities to expedite the repair of its submarine cable. The repair vessel has been loaded with the necessary spares for the cable repair, and timelines for the repair process are now estimated at 6 to 8 weeks.