Slow Internet Due to Cable Break

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The West African Cable System (Wacs) is broken again, and it will take several days of slower internet speeds in SA before it can be fixed.

The South African National Research & Education Network issued a statement saying they detected a break just before midnight on Friday, 27 March.

Its network was reported to have been stable, thanks to two other undersea cables that could take the load, but the network did warn that those working from home, using Internet Service Providers (ISPs) without access to such other cables, could see a speed impact.

Internet providers said that they were aware of the issues. Afrihost has reportedly said that the cable break will have a high impact on internet speed, they are working tirelessly to secure capacity on alternative international internet routes. 

“Two undersea cables, WACS and SAT-3, have suffered major breaks,” Afrihost CEO Gian Visser told customers in an apology.

“We’re working together with our suppliers to secure an alternative international path ASAP. We understand that you need your Internet now more than ever and I promise you that this is our top priority. Thanks for your patience. Stay safe.”

“This problem is causing increased latency and slow speeds when accessing international servers and data. Engineers are attending to the problem and hope to have it resolved soon,” said Afrihost.