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Due to a probable rock fall in the Congo Canyon, the WACS, SAT-3, and ACE subsea cables have suffered damages, resulting in service disruptions for several connectivity providers in Southern Africa. WIOCC, a major player in the industry, was able to quickly restore connectivity by transitioning its clients’ traffic onto its own full fibre pair on the Equiano cable.

WIOCC’s investment in a high-capacity, redundant IP backbone enabled them to handle unexpected events. As a strategic investor in Africa’s major subsea cables, they always maintain extra capacity for scenarios like this. Darren Bedford, WIOCC’s chief business development officer, emphasized their ability to assist ISPs and IP Transit companies in restoring connectivity services within a single day by moving them onto the Equiano cable.

WIOCC’s ownership of its own fibre pair on the Equiano cable positions them well to help ISPs and IP Transit providers in need of urgent capacity access following the cable breaks. The Equiano cable, funded by Google and officially launched in September 2022, spans between Portugal and South Africa. It consists of 12 fibre pairs, delivering a total capacity of 144Tbps, with each fibre pair offering 12Tbps of capacity.

The disruption caused by the damaged WACS, SAT-3, and ACE cables highlights the vulnerability of underwater infrastructure and the importance of having redundancies and rapid response plans in place. WIOCC’s swift action in restoring connectivity services demonstrates the value of investing in multiple subsea cable systems and maintaining sufficient capacity to mitigate disruptions caused by unforeseen incidents.

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