WACS, SAT-3 internet cable repair still more than a week away

It may be more than a week until South Africans can enjoy full-speed internet again through WACS, this according to the South African National Research and Education Network.

Also known as SANREN, the organisation which relies heavily on these cables tweeted an update on the location of the Leon Thevenin, a cable repair ship that left Cape Town harbour last week, and the estimated time of the cable repairs.

Leon Thevenin on its way to the WACS S1i cable grounds. We have a provisional repair date of the 8th February for the WACS cable system. SAT-3 will be attended to thereafter. This information may be subject to change.

— REN Alerts (@RENAlerts) January 27, 2020

Leon Thevenin is now off the coastline of Angola but initial reports suggested that both breaks were located off the coast of Gabon.

The ship will also first need to locate the break before it’s repaired.

This means that the repair may only be completed by Saturday 8 February.

Only once WACS has been repaired will the ship repair the SAT-3 cable.

South Africa’s international internet access has been disrupted for more than 10 days by cable breaks along the WACS and SAT-3 cables, which span the Atlantic Ocean connecting Africa with the UK and Europe.

Feature image: the Leon Thevenin docked in Cape Town harbour, January 2020, by Andy Walker/Memeburn