Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Africa's internet vulnerability and how to fix it
Underwater internet cables carry telecommunication signals across the
ocean floor. They are made of fiberoptic
and are the backbone of the internet, carrying the vast majority of the world's
internet traffic, including emails and social media
posts to financial transactions and video calls. A disruption to a major
submarine cable can cause a significant impact on internet traffic in the
affected region. Last month, a serious internet outage occurred and severed
internet connections in several African countries. It was the third disruption
in just four months this year in Africa. Recently, damage to undersea internet
cables has occurred more frequently. The only dedicated repair ship in Africa
used to repair damaged cables a few times a year but did nine repairs last
year. The most common cause of those cable damages is an anchor dragging from
ships, which occurs when a ship drags its anchor across the seabed. Also,
underwater rockfalls and seismic activities could damage undersea cables. Unlike
Europe and North America where high-capacity cables are placed on land and underwater,
internet connections in African countries rely heavily on a limited number of
undersea cables. Africa seems to need more diverse internet connectivity to
meet the growing use of the Internet.
Read the article and learn about how vulnerable Africa’s internet
connectivity is.
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