Freetown, SIERRA LEONE — On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Technology, Salima Monorma Bah, alongside Mahmoud Idriss, Executive Director of Zoodlabs, held a press briefing to discuss the recent nationwide internet outage that has affected millions across the country.
Minister Bah attributed the outage primarily to significant damage sustained by the ACE internet cable, which connects Sierra Leone to Liberia and stretches from South Africa to Liberia. Additionally, issues with the Portugal cable, which was undergoing maintenance, exacerbated the situation.
The Minister noted that the damage appears to have originated from unknown activities in Liberia, with no direct impact caused within Sierra Leone.
The disruptions also severely impacted Bo District, where a terrestrial internet cable used by major telecom providers Orange and Africell was severed, further compounding the connectivity issues faced by the nation.
Mahmoud Idriss of Zoodlabs, the company responsible for Sierra Leone’s internet infrastructure, explained that they provide high-speed interconnections via undersea cables to various global hubs, including Spain, France, and South Africa.
He underscored the dramatic increase in internet usage in recent years, which has put additional strain on the aging infrastructure.
Idriss highlighted that the current interconnection cables, installed in 2012, are outdated and increasingly prone to failures. He called for urgent upgrades to the infrastructure to meet the rising demand and prevent similar disruptions in the future.
In response to the outage, Minister Bah announced that her ministry, in collaboration with the National Telecommunications Authority (NATCA), will convene a committee meeting with key stakeholders, including telecom companies, to develop both short-term and long-term solutions.
An immediate priority is to explore alternative interconnection routes, such as establishing a link through Guinea, which has multiple connections with neighboring countries.
The Minister also noted that common causes of internet disruptions include software bugs, outdated patches, physical damage to cables, and extreme weather conditions. Other factors such as power outages, improper network configurations, and cybersecurity threats also play a role in the nation’s connectivity challenges.
