The National Communications Authority (NCA) has given an explanation for the interruption in mobile and fixed data services indicating that it was caused by a disruption in multiple undersea cables.
According to the NCA, this disruption has affected cables responsible for carrying international traffic in Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, and Portugal thereby affecting data services in the country.
In a press release dated March 14, the NCA said, “The disruptions affecting multiple undersea cables responsible for carrying international traffic have occurred in Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire and with some disruptions in Portugal. This has led to a significant degradation of data services across the country.”
The release added that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) were working round the clock to ensure that full services were restored.
“It is important to note that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have redundancies on other cables and are working around the clock to restore full services. In addition, the MNOs have informed affected customers of the disruptions via various channels,” the release added.
Further, the NCA said it was monitoring the situation and would keep the public informed about happenings.
Telecoms Chamber
Meanwhile, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has attributed the difficulty in accessing internet connectivity to outages on multiple submarine optic fibre cables that come into Ghana.
According to the Chamber, some of the cables are down while others are delivering limited capacity.
It said the development is impacting the internet, data, and Voice Over IP services of the mobile network operators and data service providers to varying degrees.
“As a result, customers and subscribers are currently experiencing service challenges,” a statement issued by the chamber said.
“The inconvenience to customers is deeply regretted” the statement concluded.
Also, MTN and Telecel formerly Vodafone have since apologised to their consumers and have assured that they were working round the clock to ensure that internet connectivity is restored.
The company assured that it is working to resolve the issue.
“This is due to a disruption on our international undersea cables. Our technical teams are working with our international partners to resolve the issue”, a statement from MTN Ghana said.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and will keep subscribers updated,” the MTN statement said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri