Parts of South Africa are experiencing sluggish internet speeds after a vital international data highway off the West Coast went dark for emergency repairs.
The West Africa Cable System WACS, a 14 500km undersea fibre-optic lifeline linking South Africa to Europe via Portugal, has been taken offline for what's being called a 'critical fix' off the Namibian coast, as reported by MyBroadband .
The operation, which kicked off in the early hours of Sunday 1 June, involves replacing a malfunctioning branching unit near Swakopmund, an essential junction box that helps power and redirect the flow of data through the cable.
The outage is expected to last until at least 16 June, but experts warn this is dependent on favourable sea conditions. Until then, data flowing between Southern Africa and the Northern Hemisphere is being rerouted, with mixed results.
Cape Town users, in particular, are feeling the pinch.
