There was a problem in the vast undersea canyon known as the Bottomless Hole. Internet cables were failing one by one on a seabed so deep that no human has ever set foot on it. This led to a major disruption in cities above when millions of people in West Africa woke up one morning in March to find they had no internet access. Hospitals couldn’t access patient records, business owners couldn’t pay wages, and people were left staring at their screens with the “Connecting” icon endlessly rolling.
The Trou Sans Fond, or the Bottomless Hole, is a deep canyon off the coast of Ivory Coast where internet cables are laid to provide service across West Africa. When these cables started failing, it caused chaos in the region. Many countries in Africa rely heavily on these cables for internet connectivity, and the outage highlighted the continent’s dependence on private Western internet providers.
For many businesses and individuals in Africa, the internet outage was a total shutdown. People had to find alternative ways to operate without internet access, causing major disruptions in daily life. The lack of backup systems and fewer cables in Africa compared to more developed countries made the situation even more challenging.
The outage also raised concerns about the continent’s sovereignty in terms of internet access, as African countries heavily depend on private providers for connectivity. While efforts are being made to improve internet infrastructure in Africa, such as the introduction of satellite internet technology and the building of new cables, the region still faces challenges in ensuring reliable and uninterrupted internet access.