South Africa’s undersea cable service repaired at last

South Africa’s undersea cable service repaired at last

Repairs on two undersea cables that provide Internet and phone service to southern African nations have finally been completed after more than a month of disruptions. That’s according to Openserve, the infrastructure arm of South Africa’s Telkom charged with coordinating the repairs on two damaged cable lines, the WACS and…

Undersea cable break leaves Africans waiting for service, repairs

Sub-Saharan Africa reported frustrating difficulties with Internet and data access that began Thursday, following accidental cuts of the undersea West Africa Cable System (WACS) that runs along the coast. The 16,000-kilometer system runs from South Africa to the UK, connecting much of western and central Africa to Europe and each…

Digital rights report shows global freedom declines

Slightly more than half of 65 nations reviewed in the new Freedom on the Net 2019 report show a decline in access, democratic protections for speech, and related Internet and social media rights – with Sudan showing one of the biggest drops and Zimbabwe not far behind. The annual report…

Egyptians find some news, social media blocked

Egyptians were experiencing some Internet disruptions on Sunday as protests against President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi continued into the weekend, with service interruptions that appeared to target news sites and social media messaging. NetBlocks.org, an organization that tracks shutdowns and disruptions across the globe, reported that BBC News and other news…

Internet access down, low voter turnout in Benin

Legislative elections in Benin were held Sunday without opposition party participation – and without Internet access, after the government shut it down during the day. “The decision to shut down access to the Internet and social media on an election day is a blunt violation of the right to freedom…

Africa makes strides in Internet access and usage

For the first time, more than half of the world’s population is using the Internet and it is sub-Saharan Africa that is making the greatest progress. The ITU, a United Nations agency devoted to information and communication technologies, released a report Friday that estimates that 3.9 billion people, or 51.2…

Crackdown in Cameroon ahead of Monday election announcement

Tensions ran high in troubled Cameroon on Sunday as the national election commission, ELECAM, prepared to announce on Monday the final result of the October 7 presidential election. ELECAM has 15 days from the poll closing to report final results according to Cameroon law, and the last of 18 legal challenges…