Nationwide Internet Outages Plague Nigeria – Subsea Cable Cuts Cause Chaos

Aisha, a web developer based in Lagos, found herself frustrated by internet disruptions as she struggled to meet deadlines on a crucial project for a client.

The recent cuts to Nigeria’s major internet service provider, MainOne, have led to severe nationwide internet disruptions, affecting businesses, remote workers, and startups alike.

Impact on Businesses

The internet outages have resulted in significant challenges for businesses across Nigeria.

Adedeji Olowe, CEO of LendSqr, noted a 50% drop in customer sign-ups and activities during the period of disruption.

Babatunde Akin-Moses, CEO of Sycamore, faced difficulties in disbursing loans due to the outage, while banks relying on Microsoft Azure experienced delays in critical services.

Challenges for Startups

Startups have also been adversely affected by the internet disruptions, experiencing project delays and communication breakdowns.

Dennis Mary, CEO of Yuki, highlighted the need to focus on offline tasks to maintain productivity during this period.

Ire, a growth marketer, faced obstacles accessing online training platforms for company training.

Prospects for Restoration

Repairing the broken subsea cable is expected to take weeks or even months, according to reports.

However, MTN, Nigeria’s leading telecom provider, has taken proactive steps to address the outage by collaborating with ACE and WACS to repair the affected cables.

While improvements have been noted in MTN’s network service, full restoration is still underway.

Alternative Solutions

Amidst the disruptions, some individuals have sought alternative internet solutions to mitigate the impact.

Glo and Airtel, utilizing different submarine cables, have maintained relatively stable network reception.

Additionally, many have explored alternative internet service providers like Tizeti, FiberOne, and Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite-based internet.

Adapting to Challenges

Individuals like Shadrach, a web developer, have resorted to coworking spaces to access reliable internet amidst the disruptions.

Despite the challenges, there is a collective effort to adapt and find solutions to navigate through this period of internet instability in Nigeria.

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