The $150 billion digital economy in the region is in grave danger due to a lack of cable resilience, according to the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA).
The West African cable network “rests on a fragile foundation,” according to a report provided to our reporter by Aliyu Aboki, Executive Secretary of WATRA.
A serious weakness at the core of this developing digital economy was revealed in March 2024 by a string of underwater cable interruptions along the coast of West Africa. In some countries, connectivity was compromised for several hours, and in some cases, days. Digital platforms went down, banking systems slowed, and companies that depended on cloud infrastructure encountered severe operational interruption.
“There was nothing unusual about the occurrence. The International Cable Protection Committee states that fishing, anchoring, and natural bottom movement are the main causes of submarine cable faults worldwide. The scope of the disturbance in West Africa was what set it apart. The region’s several cables were impacted at the same time, drastically cutting down on available bandwidth and overloading the redundancy that was already in place. The lesson was clear right away: resilience is not the same as capability. Aboki stated
The West Africa Cable System (WACS), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), and MainOne Cable are among of the key international systems that service West Africa, according to the WATRA Report.
Together, these systems offer substantial international capacity, he noted, “but their routing patterns and landing configurations meant that a single disruption could affect multiple systems at once.”
He said that following the 2024 incident, internet traffic in the impacted nations plummeted precipitously—by some estimates, more than 50%—while latency rose and service quality declined.
He stated that while restoration times varied, they occasionally took several days, underscoring the limitations of both administrative and physical repairs.
The ramifications are obvious for investors and governments. Submarine cables are more than just infrastructure for telecommunications. They are the cornerstone of economic activity, he wrote.
With a combined GDP of more than $800 billion, the West African area is rapidly undergoing digital revolution, according to Daily Trust. With promising growth prospects, its digital economy—which includes fintech, e-commerce, digital services, and connectivity—is thought to generate between $100 billion and $150 billion in economic activity yearly.
Digital platforms are assisting in overcoming long-standing infrastructure limitations, increasing productivity, drawing in investment, and generating employment throughout the region.
The International Telecommunication Union has repeatedly emphasized that over 95% of all internet traffic worldwide passes via underwater cables.
The dependability of these systems is closely related to economic performance in West Africa, where digital usage is growing quickly. Reduced productivity, lost transactions, and a decline in investor confidence are all consequences of outages.
However, Aboki stated that the momentum of the West African digital economy cannot be maintained in the absence of robust connection.
Resilience has historically been viewed as a secondary factor, something that is addressed after deployment rather than integrated at the point of investment, he said, adding that this strategy is no longer viable.
“There is growing recognition that digital infrastructure must be approached through the lens of long-term risk and sustainability in global discussions, including those involving the World Bank,” he stated. Risk premiums, insurance costs, and financing choices are all influenced by resilience. It is considered an extra expense when it is not well defined. It becomes a value proposition—one that can unlock capital—when it is directly associated with decreased downtime and operational continuity. This distinction is crucial for underserved areas.
According to him, creating systems that are affordable, long-lasting, and geographically cohesive is more difficult than just building additional wires.
He stated that a change in viewpoint is necessary to address this. According to him, submarine cable resilience needs to be supported by integrated policy frameworks and viewed as a regional public good.
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