Seacom confirms Tuesday's undersea cable outage. Here's what really happened

In today's interconnected world, reliable internet access is crucial for personal, educational, and professional activities.

However, internet disruptions can occur, causing significant inconvenience and affecting productivity.

Two common issues that disrupt internet connectivity are fibre cuts and outages.

While these terms might sound similar, they refer to different problems with distinct causes and impacts.

Understanding the differences between fibre cuts and outages can help address and mitigate these issues more effectively, like what happened on the evening of June 25, when many Kenyans could not connect to the internet following a day of protests.

On this day, Kenya experienced an internet outage and not a fibre cut as was widely believed.

According to Seacom, a digital infrastructure firm, their customers including Kenyan telcos, experienced an outage in their IP/MPLS services (Internet Protocol Multi-Protocol Label Switching) due to a capacity loss on one of the cables that power our corporate services.

Outages

An outage refers to a broader issue where there is a reduced flow of internet traffic, causing a slowdown or complete interruption of internet services.

Unlike fibre cuts, outages do not necessarily involve physical damage to the infrastructure but can be caused by a variety of factors.

Causes of Outages

1. Network Congestion. High levels of internet traffic can overwhelm the network infrastructure, leading to slowdowns or temporary service interruptions.
2. Technical Malfunctions. Hardware or software failures in routers, switches, or servers can cause outages.
3. Power Failures. Electrical outages can disrupt internet services if backup power systems fail or are inadequate.
4. Cyberattacks. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, where multiple systems flood the network with traffic, can cause outages by overwhelming the servers.

Impact of Outages

Outages can vary in severity, from minor slowdowns in internet speed to complete service disruptions.

The impact of an outage depends on the underlying cause and the ability of service providers to manage and mitigate the issue.

Outages can affect a specific area, a particular service, or even large regions, depending on the scope of the problem.

Unlike fibre cuts, outages might not require physical repairs but rather technical interventions to restore normal service.

Fibre Cuts

A fibre cut involves physical damage to the fibre optic cables that transmit internet data.

Fibre optic cables, composed of thin strands of glass or plastic, use light signals to carry data over long distances at high speeds.

These cables are typically buried underground or laid under the sea and are susceptible to damage from various sources.

Causes of Fibre Cuts

1. Construction Activities. One of the most common causes of fibre cuts is accidental damage during construction or excavation work. Workers might inadvertently sever cables while digging for other infrastructure projects.
2. Natural Disasters. Events such as earthquakes, floods, or landslides can damage underground fibre optic cables, disrupting internet services.
3. Animal Activity. In some cases, animals such as rodents can chew through cables, causing breaks in the fibre network.
4. Vandalism. Intentional acts of vandalism can also lead to fibre cuts, though this is less common.

Impact of Fibre Cuts

When a fibre cut occurs, it results in a complete disruption of internet services in the affected area.

The damage to the physical infrastructure means that data cannot flow through the severed cables, leading to an immediate and often extensive loss of connectivity.

Repairing a fibre cut involves locating the exact point of damage, excavating the area, and splicing or replacing the damaged cables.

This process can be time-consuming and requires specialised equipment and skilled technicians.

Both fibre cuts and outages can severely impact internet connectivity, but they stem from different causes and require different solutions.

Fibre cuts involve physical damage to the infrastructure, necessitating repairs to the cables, while outages can result from a range of issues including network congestion, technical malfunctions, power failures, or cyberattacks.

Understanding these distinctions is essential for both internet service providers and users to effectively address and mitigate the disruptions caused by these issues.