(Business in Cameroon) - Internet users in Cameroon have been experiencing significant service disruptions for more than 48 hours now. The reason is a new cut in the country’s fiber optic network, managed by the incumbent telecom operator Camtel.

"A major incident occurred at our Batoké site (Southwest region) on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, resulting in the loss of some of our international connections. This cut has led to a degradation of internet services and various links for many of our customers and partners. Our teams are actively working to determine the cause of this disruption and restore the connection as soon as possible," Camtel said in a press release published on September 6.

Sources within this public company, which leases fiber optic lines to other mobile operators, internet service providers, and various value-added telecom services, said the cut was detected on the subsea cable known as Wacs, which originates from Nigeria. This is the third incident of its kind within a month, the sources said. On August 6, 2023, cuts were spotted on both the Wacs and Sat 3 cables, and only the disruptions on the Wacs cable had been fixed.

"Fortunately, we have multiple subsea cables, allowing us to redirect traffic onto other cables in case of an incident," Camtel said. Telecom operators active in the country have pointed out that fiber optic cuts are one of the main reasons for the deteriorating quality of services in Cameroon.