Both the Wacs and Sat-3/Wasc cables providing international connectivity from South Africa to international markets were knocked out on Thursday, causing slow connections for some consumer and business users.

Telkom’s wholesale division Openserve issued a media statement late on Wednesday describing the dual breaks as “unusual”. They both appear to have occurred in the early hours of the morning.

The impact is that customers that are connected to Openserve’s global capacity clients are experiencing reduced Internet speeds, the company said.

The Sat-3/Wasc break is in the vicinity of Libreville, Gabon, while the Wacs break point is in the vicinity of Luanda, Angola

The Sat-3/Wasc break is in the vicinity of Libreville, Gabon, while the Wacs break point is in the vicinity of Luanda, Angola.

International voice calling and mobile roaming has also been impacted, Openserve said.

Wacs and Sat-3 are deployed in the Atlantic Ocean and connect South Africa and many other African countries to Europe.

Repair ships

The newer Wacs cable lands in South Africa at Yzerfontein in the Western Cape, while the older Sat-3/Wasc system lands at Melkbosstrand, also in the Western Cape.

TechCentral understands that repair ships have been sent to fix the faults, the cause of which is not yet known.

“Openserve has made its resources available to both cable consortia to assist wherever possible,” the company said. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media