On March 14, 2024, four submarine fiber optic cables were damaged off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire due to a suspected rockslide. The cable failures left 13 African countries with either disrupted internet services or near-complete outages, with the worst of the disturbances. That's why the work of the Léon Thévenin —This vessel, is at the heart of a silent battle—one fought beneath the waves—to safeguard Africa's digital future, a ship the size of a football field, crewed by more than 50 engineers and technicians—is nothing short of heroic. Last year's Internet. Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the world's oceans.
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