A subsea cable owned by MainOne broke and caused a major internet outage across West and Central Africa. The disruption started on July 19, 2025. MainOne data centre services confirmed the fault on their cable system.
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Countries affected include Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and neighbouring regions. Users reported slow speeds and loss of service. Businesses, government agencies and internet providers all felt the impact.
MainOne said the break happened on a vital segment of the cable. Repair teams were mobilised at once. Subsea repairs usually take days or weeks. Until the system is fixed, many users will rely on backup links.
The outage underscores Africa’s digital vulnerability. Most data traffic in these regions depends on just a few international cables. Losing one connection can disrupt entire economies.
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Internet service providers scrambled to reroute traffic. Some used satellites or alternative onshore lines. But these options were slower and more expensive. Many users faced data caps or service restrictions.
This incident comes as mobile data usage rises rapidly across Africa. Local hosting and redundant network paths are still limited. Data centres in Africa handle less than one percent of global capacity. The market lacks scale and resilience.
MainOne promised to repair the cable as soon as possible. They also said they will improve future resilience by investing in alternate routes and more local data infrastructure.
Meanwhile businesses dependent on digital services—especially financial platforms, eCommerce sites and online publishers—face downtime risks until connectivity returns.
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This outage highlights the need for Africa to build more resilient network infrastructure. It shows how critical internet access is for digital finance, media and daily business operations. Better cable networks and data centres can limit the fallout from such breakdowns.
