Dr Joe Anokye, the Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), has attributed Ghana's avoidance of a complete internet outage during the 14 March 2024 undersea cable disruptions to proactive measures implemented by the Authority dating back to 2020.

Explaining the situation, Dr Anokye noted that several countries along the West African Coast to South Africa experienced widespread internet outages due to disruptions in four submarine cables, coincidentally operational in Ghana. 

Despite this, consumers on AT&T did not experience disruptions, and MTN users had partial internet access. 

All three mobile network operators (MNOs) in Ghana have since restored full internet capacity, while repair efforts are ongoing for the affected submarine cables.

Dr Anokye revealed that the NCA had directed MNOs to establish and maintain physical cable connections with at least three submarine cable providers for redundancy and resilience.

 This directive, issued in April 2020, was followed by all MNOs.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Ministry of Information on Sunday, 24th March 2024, Dr Anokye highlighted the proactive engagements with stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

These efforts included a risk assessment of MNO capacities and directives to ensure redundancy in submarine cable connections.

Dr Anokye further disclosed that MNOs would be required to establish provisions for an additional leg of their cable with a provider located nearby but not landing in-country. 

Additionally, the NCA licensed a fifth cable landing operator, Bayobab, for the 2Africa Cable, expected to be operational by the 4th Quarter of 2024 or sooner.

The 2Africa Cable, with a design capacity of 180tbps, will provide geographical diversity and increased capacity compared to existing cables. 

Dr Anokye also mentioned the augmentation of existing satellite licensing to include broadband satellite services, providing alternative connectivity options.

Looking ahead, Dr Anokye emphasised collaboration with regulators and the industry to extend inter-country terrestrial fiber for enhanced internet connectivity resilience.