Internet slows down in Africa as ship drops anchor on cable

From online dispatches

Hürriyet file photo

High-speed Internet connection has been disrupted in East Africa after a ship dropped its anchor on fiber-optic cables off the Kenyan coast, BBC reported. 
 
The ship was waiting to enter Mombasa, one of the busiest ports in Africa, when it dropped anchor in a restricted area, severing one of three undersea cables feeding the area with high-speed Internet. 
 
Cable owners The African Marine Systems (Teams) told the BBC that it could take as long as two weeks to repair the damage. 
 
Internet providers re-routed their services to another cable owner, Seacom, which was not damaged by the anchor, but bought only a small amount of bandwith because of the cost. The damage has resulted in 20 percent slower Internet connection for Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Sudan's capital Juba, BBC correspondent Noel Mwakugu said.
 
Seacom links East Africa to Europe, India and South Africa, Teams links the region to the United Arab Emirates, while the third cable provider, Eassy, has linked countries along the East African coast since July 2010.