Rwandatel blames SEACOM for Internet breakdown

Over 65 percent of internet users in Rwanda and some other parts of Africa are experiencing internet glitches which Rwandatel, the country’s biggest Internet Service Provider, has attributed to the July 5, breakdown of the SEACOM cable. According to Rwandatel CEO, Issiaka Maiga Hamidou, SEACOM informed them of the fault on an undersea cable running from Dar es Salaam to Mumbai through the Indian Ocean. “We are in touch with SEACOM and they are doing everything in their capacity and working around the clock to restore the service. In the meantime, we are working on an alternative for all our customers who are affected and we shall communicate as soon as this is in place,” said the CEO. “We truly apologise for the inconvenience this must have caused.” The affected undersea cable connects South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya where Rwandatel gets its link through Microwave technology. Reports from SEACOM on Tuesday indicated that the damage on the cable was ‘quite serious’ and could take minimum of six to eight days, and potentially up to two weeks. “The problem was noticed at about 11:20 on Monday that there was a cable fault, and we involved- technical teams to identify that in fact a repeater had failed about 300km north of Mombasa,” reads a statement from SEACOM. “Technicians tried to bring it up using configurations, but it turns out that the kind of fault and the repeater needs to be raised off the sea bed and replaced.” Ends

National

Rwandatel blames SEACOM for Internet breakdown