Congo eyes new subsea cable to fix Internet disruptions
On today's Techpoint Digest, we discuss Congo's plans for a new subsea cable to address Internet disruptions, X, and Paystack's evolution beyond a payments company.
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Victoria from Techpoint here,<br />
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Here’s what I’ve got for you today:<br />
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Paystack is no longer just a payments company<br />
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From failed startups to Africa’s largest Web3 incubator<br />
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Congo eyes new subsea cable to fix Internet disruptions<br />
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Congo eyes new subsea cable to fix Internet disruptions<br />
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If you live in the Republic of Congo and your Internet has felt painfully slow or completely unreliable lately, you’re not imagining it. The country has been grappling with repeated outages linked to faults on the West Africa Cable System (WACS), one of Africa’s major submarine Internet cables.<br />
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Now, the Congolese government says it’s exploring a backup plan. According to Benjamin Mouandza, a senior official at the country’s telecoms regulator, Congo could connect to an alternative submarine cable within the next three weeks if everything goes smoothly. Officials are also counting on the delayed Dow Africa cable to eventually strengthen connectivity.<br />
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What this means is simple: Congo wants to stop relying on a single cable for international Internet access. Tapping into another subsea cable would give telecom operators redundancy, helping reduce the impact of outages when WACS runs into trouble.<br />
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Why it matters is hard to overstate. Internet disruptions affect everything from mobile money and businesses to government services and everyday communication. Congo’s telecoms minister, Léon Juste Ibombo, has already asked operators to roll out emergency fixes and submit long-term technical solutions to prevent these recurring failures.<br />
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Congo has depended on WACS since 2012, and it’s not alone in feeling the pain. Neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo is also dealing with WACS-related disruptions, even as the cable operator itself has remained silent. What to watch now is whether Congo’s push for a second cable finally gives users the stable Internet they’ve been missing.<br />
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From failed startups to Africa’s largest Web3 incubator<br />
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Eric Annan, Founder, Aya HQ<br />
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Eric Ann...
