Slow internet connections to persist, warns CA

Kenya’s telecommunications regulator has warned the unresolved on-and-off intenet disruptions which hit East Africa countries Sunday evening will persist in the coming days, asking service providers such as Safaricom to tap alternative routes.

Homes and businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and a host of other countries are experiencing slow internet connection speeds following a cut on deep-sea fibre cables at Mtunzini, a small coastal town in South Africa.

The fault affected submarine cables serving Kenya, largely privately-controlled Seacom and East Africa Submarine System (Eassy), the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) said Monday.

“We wish to inform individual and corporate consumers that the recovery process has since commenced but intermittency and slow speeds may remain in the coming days before services are fully restored,” CA director-general, David Mugonyi said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, 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 the incoming and outbound internet connectivity is available.”

Fibre-optic technology facilities are reliable and secure internet, offering faster high-speed connectivity compared with other broadband options.

The technology has enabled reliable internet connection in the country which has enabled remote working and made Kenya a leader in rapidly-evolving digital economy.

Leading service providers such as Safaricom, Airtel and Jamii Telecommunications Ltd have laid tens of thousands of kilomteres of fibre-optic cables across major towns targeting to connect homes and businesses.

This has enabled telecoms companies to roll out 4G and 5G mobile network which offer faster internet speed, enabling reliable services such as video streaming on mobile phones.

The regulator says the hitch has not affected The East Africa Marine System (TEAMs) cable — majority owned by the Kenyan Government —which has now been tapped for domestic traffic flow.

Further capacity is available on the redundant South Africa route, the CA added, which has been activated to minimize the impact of the cut on Seacom and Eassy submarine cables.

Leading operator, Safaricom, said on the X platform that it had “activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption”, but maintained that resolution on “a network challenge” was ongoing.