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JSE:MTN 7 February 2025 - 9 September 2025

Mystery Cable Cuts, SpaceX’s $17B Gamble & Satellite Showdowns – Internet Access Roundup (Sept 8–9, 2025)

Mystery Cable Cuts, SpaceX’s $17B Gamble & Satellite Showdowns – Internet Access Roundup (Sept 8–9, 2025)

A sudden undersea communications crisis struck over the weekend as multiple fiber-optic cables were mysteriously cut in the Red Sea. On Sept 7, internet monitors reported that two critical subsea systems – the SEA-ME-WE 4 and IMEWE cables – were severed near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ts2.tech. The impact was felt across continents: connectivity slowed to a crawl or halted entirely in countries including India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE ts2.tech. “Multiple countries including India and Pakistan have been affected” by the outage, confirmed NetBlocks, calling it a “series of subsea cable outages” hitting the region reuters.com ts2.tech. Major Gulf telecoms Etisalat and Du experienced nationwide slowdowns, prompting user complaints of sluggish speeds ts2.tech. Even Microsoft sounded the alarm – Azure cloud customers were told to expect higher latency after “multiple undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea” forced data to detour on longer paths reuters.com. No culprit has been confirmed in the Red Sea cable cut – accidents like ship anchors or quakes are possible, but geopolitical sabotage is also feared. The cable route passes near conflict zones, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been suspected of past attacks on undersea lines gizmodo.com ts2.tech. This time, as the Houthis
9 September 2025
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Global Internet Access Shockwaves: Cable Cuts, Censorship & Broadband Booms (Sept 6–7, 2025)

Global Internet Access Shockwaves: Cable Cuts, Censorship & Broadband Booms (Sept 6–7, 2025)

On September 6, a sudden multi-cable break in the Red Sea sent shockwaves through global connectivity. Several undersea fiber-optic cables were simultaneously cut near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia beaumontenterprise.com. The impact was felt across continents – internet traffic between Europe/Asia and the Middle East slowed to a crawl, and countries like Pakistan and India experienced degraded service beaumontenterprise.com. Microsoft’s Azure cloud warned users of increased latency as data was rerouted onto backup paths beaumontenterprise.com. In the Gulf, UAE customers on du and Etisalat noticed sluggish speeds beaumontenterprise.com. While the exact cause remains unclear, the incident raised alarms about possible sabotage amid regional conflicts. Experts noted that even an errant ship anchor can sever these vital lines in shallow seas beaumontenterprise.com. Repairs are underway, but with multiple deep-sea cuts, full restoration could take weeks. These cable cuts capped a troubling week of connectivity woes. In South Asia, Pakistan’s entire Balochistan province remains under a government-ordered mobile internet blackout amid military operations, a shutdown now stretching into weeks and keeping ~15 million people offline ts2.tech. And in Iraq, authorities continued imposing nationwide internet blackouts for a few hours each morning during high school exams to prevent cheating ts2.tech – an education-year ritual that
7 September 2025
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Global Internet Access Shake-Up: Outages, Crackdowns, and a Race to Connect the Unconnected

Global Internet Access Shake-Up: Outages, Crackdowns, and a Race to Connect the Unconnected

Major investments in physical internet infrastructure were unveiled over the past 48 hours, spanning undersea cables and satellites. SpaceX completed its fourth Starlink launch from California in a month, lofting 24 satellites on August 29 to enhance coverage in polar regions. This bolsters SpaceX’s constellation of over 8,000 active satellites, which is already delivering broadband to dozens of countries. Rival project Kuiper – Amazon’s satellite internet network – is also accelerating: Amazon announced it expects to begin beta service by late 2025, after deploying its first 27 satellites in April and scheduling another launch for Sept. 25. Kuiper plans to eventually operate 3,200+ satellites aimed at blanketing underserved areas with up to 1 Gbps speeds. These satellite rollouts are poised to bring connectivity to remote communities from the Arctic to rural Asia, complementing ground networks. On the subsea front, new transoceanic cables are being laid to boost bandwidth and resiliency. Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom, with backing from Meta’s infrastructure arm, just unveiled the Daraja cable – a 4,100 km undersea fiber link between Mombasa, Kenya and Muscat, Oman. The $23 million system will add a new high-capacity route out of East Africa, reducing reliance on older cables and cutting wholesale
3 September 2025
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How Guinea Is Quietly Getting Online: The Untold Story of Internet Access and Satellite Expansion

How Guinea Is Quietly Getting Online: The Untold Story of Internet Access and Satellite Expansion

Guinea, a West African nation often overshadowed by its neighbors, is undergoing a quiet digital transformation. Long marked by limited connectivity, the country is now seeing gradual improvements in internet access through mobile network expansion, new fiber-optic infrastructure, and emerging satellite services. This report provides a comprehensive overview of Guinea’s internet landscape – from current infrastructure and service providers to government initiatives and challenges – and compares its progress with neighboring countries. Despite low baseline indicators, recent developments suggest Guinea is steadily getting online, bridging a digital divide in a way that has largely gone untold. Guinea’s internet infrastructure remains in early stages of development, but it spans multiple technologies: mobile networks dominate, while fixed broadband and public access points are nascent.
24 August 2025
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Inside Rwanda’s Internet Revolution: How the Nation Is Connecting Remote Villages and Launching Satellites

Inside Rwanda’s Internet Revolution: How the Nation Is Connecting Remote Villages and Launching Satellites

Rwanda has emerged as one of Africa’s digital trailblazers, transforming from a nation with almost no internet access in the 1990s to an ambitious ICT hub today. This report delves into Rwanda’s internet revolution – from the historical rollout of infrastructure to the latest efforts connecting remote villages and even leveraging satellites for connectivity. We examine how Rwanda built its networks, current access statistics, major players and technologies, government policies, the urban-rural digital divide, affordability issues, the advent of satellite internet via Starlink and others, comparisons with neighbors, and what the future holds for Rwanda’s digital infrastructure. Rwanda’s journey into the internet age began in the mid-1990s on a very limited scale. The country’s first internet access was launched around 1996, but uptake was negligible in the early years researchgate.net. By the year 2000, Rwanda had only on the order of a few thousand internet users unesco.org, reflecting how nascent the technology was in a post-war economy. The early 2000s saw critical liberalization moves – notably the 2004 privatization of the state telecom Rwandatel, which injected new investment and opened the ISP market to competition researchgate.net. This led to the first significant bump in connectivity. By 2010, internet users had
6 August 2025
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Eswatini’s Internet Access in 2025: 5G, Starlink & Surprising Coverage

Eswatini’s Internet Access in 2025: 5G, Starlink & Surprising Coverage

Eswatini has seen rapid growth in connectivity. Mobile subscribers exceed 1.6 million datareportal.com, of which ~1.47 million are mobile broadband connections esccom.org.sz. About 720,000 people use the internet datareportal.com. Smartphone adoption is high esccom.org.sz, but fixed broadband remains small esccom.org.sz. Two mobile operators – MTN Eswatini and Eswatini Mobile – provide 2G/3G/4G services nationwide, while dozens of ISPs compete in fixed and mobile data. Despite this growth, average download speeds remain modest and internet costs are relatively high, limiting affordability. Internet service covers nearly all cities but gaps persist in remote areas. The mobile network has nationwide reach – about 99% of people are within 2G range esccom.org.sz and 95% within 4G range esccom.org.sz. However, 4G’s geographic reach is only ~82% of the country esccom.org.sz, leaving sparsely populated zones on 3G or 2G. Urban centers like Mbabane and Manzini are fully covered, but rural villages often lack high-speed links. Indeed, Eswatini is ~75% rural datareportal.com, and studies note high prices and “limited penetration outside the urban corridor of Mbabane–Manzini” trade.gov undp.org. Many rural communities rely on basic mobile service or satellite links.
11 July 2025
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Iran’s Internet Access Exposed: From Aging ADSL to an Underground Starlink Revolution

Iran’s Internet Access Exposed: From Aging ADSL to an Underground Starlink Revolution

Iran’s internet infrastructure is a mix of aging fixed broadband and expanding mobile networks, all under strain from sanctions and state control. Fixed broadband largely relies on ADSL and a limited fiber-optic rollout. The government has ambitious fiber plans – aiming to cover 20 million premises with fiber by end of 2025 – but progress has been slow businesswire.com. As of early 2024, Iran had about 73.1 million internet users and 146.5 million mobile connections, indicating many users carry multiple SIMs freedomhouse.org. Median download speeds remain modest: about 15 Mbps on fixed broadband vs 37 Mbps on mobile as of May 2024 freedomhouse.org. This means mobile 4G networks often outperform Iran’s sluggish ADSL links. Indeed, the country’s 4G coverage is broad, while true 5G is in its infancy pulse.internetsociety.org. Major operators have piloted 5G in urban centers, and the telecom regulator projected up to 4,000 5G base stations by March 2025 businesswire.com. However, rollout has been hampered by limited spectrum availability and underinvestment businesswire.com capacitymedia.com. In short, Iran boasts one of the largest, youngest online populations in the Middle East, but outdated infrastructure and slow upgrades leave a gap between user demand and network quality. Critically, Iran’s connectivity is shaped
24 June 2025
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South Africa’s Internet Access Revolution: The Shocking Truth About Connectivity in 2025

South Africa’s Internet Access Revolution: The Shocking Truth About Connectivity in 2025

South Africa’s internet infrastructure has transformed dramatically over the past decade, moving from copper phone lines to lightning-fast fiber optics and 5G wireless. Fixed-line broadband is now dominated by fiber, as old ADSL connections vanish. Telkom – the former monopoly – had over 1 million ADSL subscribers at its peak around 2015, but by the end of 2024 fewer than 36,000 remained on copper lines mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za. This 96% collapse in DSL usage reflects customers migrating to fiber and wireless broadband. Fiber-to-the-home subscriptions surged from 1.49 million in 2023 to 2.47 million in 2024 newsletter.en.creamermedia.com – a jump driven by aggressive rollouts from Telkom’s Openserve, Vumatel, and other fiber network operators. Major cities now enjoy extensive fiber coverage, delivering high-speed, uncapped internet to homes and businesses. Meanwhile, mobile internet reigns supreme for most South Africans. Over 69% of internet users go online via mobile devices, whereas only about 13% of households have a fixed-line home internet connection freedomhouse.org. All four mobile network operators provide extensive 3G/4G coverage – reaching 99% of the population for 3G and 4G LTE newsletter.en.creamermedia.com. Mobile broadband is often the only option in townships and rural areas where laying fiber is costly. Public Wi-Fi initiatives also
19 June 2025
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The Digital Lifeline: Inside Ghana’s Internet Revolution from Fiber to Satellite

The Digital Lifeline: Inside Ghana’s Internet Revolution from Fiber to Satellite

Ghana has seen a rapid rise in internet usage over the past decade, evolving from single-digit penetration in 2010 to nearly 70% of the population online today. As of early 2025, approximately 24.3 million Ghanaians were internet users, representing an internet penetration rate of 69.9% datareportal.com. This is a dramatic increase from just 8% in 2010, thanks to expanding mobile networks and cheaper devices blogs.worldbank.org. The country had 38.3 million active mobile connections by 2025, indicating many people use multiple SIM cards datareportal.com. Most of these connections are now data-capable – over 93% of mobile connections are on 3G, 4G, or 5G networks datareportal.com – underscoring the dominance of mobile broadband in Ghana’s connectivity landscape. Internet Use by Demographics: Internet adoption is widespread across age groups and genders, but disparities exist. Young people are the most connected – about 80% of youth were internet users in 2021 blogs.worldbank.org – while usage among older adults was lower blogs.worldbank.org. Men are slightly more likely to be online than women blogs.worldbank.org, reflecting a persistent gender gap. Urban residents also have greater access: roughly 80% of urban Ghanaians used the internet in 2021, compared to 54% in rural areas blogs.worldbank.org. This urban–rural divide is
15 June 2025
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Côte d’Ivoire’s Internet Revolution: Fiber Optics, 5G Dreams, and Satellite Solutions

Côte d’Ivoire’s Internet Revolution: Fiber Optics, 5G Dreams, and Satellite Solutions

Côte d’Ivoire is undergoing a digital transformation, rapidly expanding internet infrastructure and connectivity across the country Trade. Fueled by government ambition to become a West African digital hub Trade, investments in fiber-optic networks, mobile broadband, and even satellite internet are reshaping how Ivorians access the online world. Internet usage has grown from only a fraction of the population two decades ago to roughly 38–41% of citizens today Internetsociety, but significant gaps remain between urban and rural areas. This report provides a comprehensive look at Côte d’Ivoire’s internet access landscape – from ultra-fast fiber in city centers to innovative satellite projects for remote villages – covering infrastructure status, key providers, usage trends, affordability, policies, recent developments, and how the country stacks up against its West African peers. High-speed internet access in Côte d’Ivoire reflects an urban-rural divide. Over half of Ivorians live in urban areas Datareportal, and cities like Abidjan enjoy extensive 3G/4G coverage and growing fiber deployments. In urban centers, about 50% of the population uses the Internet, compared to only 22% in rural areas Internetsociety. Major cities benefit from multiple mobile operators and fiber rings, while rural communities often rely on basic 2G/3G connections or shared facilities. In remote
8 June 2025
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Internet Access in Cameroon: The Race to Connect a Nation

Internet Access in Cameroon: The Race to Connect a Nation

Cameroon, a Central African nation of about 29.5 million people, is racing to improve internet connectivity for its citizens. As of early 2025, roughly 41.9% of the population uses the internet, leaving the majority still offline datareportal.com bmz-digital.global. Internet access has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet it remains unevenly distributed and faces many challenges. Urban centers enjoy far more connectivity than rural villages, creating a significant digital divide. This report provides a comprehensive overview of internet access in Cameroon – from current penetration levels and infrastructure, to service providers and costs, to the challenges and initiatives shaping the country’s digital future. Key comparisons with other African nations are included to contextualize Cameroon’s progress. The goal is to shed light on Cameroon’s connectivity landscape and the “race” to get the nation online, examining both achievements to date and the road ahead. National Internet Usage: Cameroon’s internet penetration stood around 42–44% of the population in 2024-2025, meaning less than half of Cameroonians are online datareportal.com bmz-digital.global. There were about 12.7 million internet users in January 2024 and 12.4 million at the start of 2025 datareportal.com datareportal.com. This slight dip reflects rapid population growth outpacing user growth, as well as refined
4 June 2025
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Internet Access in Nigeria: A Comprehensive Overview

Internet Access in Nigeria: A Comprehensive Overview

Nigeria’s internet infrastructure relies on a combination of undersea fiber-optic cables, terrestrial networks, and a handful of dominant service providers. Multiple international submarine cables land in Nigeria, connecting it to global internet hubs. Key cables include: These undersea cables terminate in Lagos and other coastal landing stations, feeding into national fiber backbones. A number of companies have deployed fiber-optic networks crisscrossing the country, including Phase3 Telecom, MainOne, Globacom, Suburban Telecom, and MTN​ Ecoi. Internet exchange points in at least five regions help route domestic traffic locally​ Ecoi, improving speed and reducing costs.
3 March 2025
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Internet Access in Sudan

Internet Access in Sudan

Sudan’s internet infrastructure relies on a national fiber-optic backbone and international gateways centered at Port Sudan. The country is connected to several submarine cables, including the East Africa Submarine System and FLAG/FALCON networks, which land at the Red Sea coast​ en.wikipedia.org. Terrestrial fiber links extend to neighboring countries to route traffic regionally. However, fixed-line broadband infrastructure is limited and much of the population accesses the internet via wireless networks. Sudan maintains satellite earth stations for international connectivity as well​ en.wikipedia.org, but satellite links historically served mainly as backups or for remote areas. Major service providers: Sudan’s telecom market is served by a handful of operators:
25 February 2025
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Internet Access in Yemen: Overview and Key Aspects

Internet Access in Yemen: Overview and Key Aspects

Yemen’s internet infrastructure is limited and highly centralized. The backbone relies on a few aging international connections and an outdated domestic network. A single subsea cable – the FALCON/FLAG system landing at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah – carries most of Yemen’s bandwidth​ ukraine.wilsoncenter.org​ washingtoninstitute.org. In fact, almost all connectivity comes through this one aging cable, with only a narrow backup link via Djibouti and some expensive satellite links​ washingtoninstitute.org. During the civil war, land fiber links to Saudi Arabia were destroyed, leaving the country largely dependent on undersea cables​ washingtoninstitute.org. Internal infrastructure consists of microwave relays and limited fiber, with fixed-line broadband largely delivered via old DSL over copper telephone lines​ smex.org. This network has not seen significant upgrades during the conflict, resulting in very low bandwidth and reliability​ smex.org. Major service providers in Yemen include:
24 February 2025
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Internet Access in Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Overview

Internet Access in Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Overview

Afghanistan’s internet infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped, relying heavily on mobile networks and limited fixed broadband. After 2001, the country had to build its telecom network from scratch, as the previous Taliban regime had effectively banned the internet​ Wired. In the two decades that followed, mobile telecommunications saw rapid growth – rising from zero subscribers in 2001 to nearly a 100% mobile subscription penetration by 2021​ Businesswire. A nationwide fiber-optic backbone was being rolled out and even a 400 km cross-border fiber link to China was near completion in 2021​ Businesswire. However, the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 stalled or halted many of these projects​ Businesswire​ Businesswire, casting uncertainty on the finalization of the fiber network. Major service providers in Afghanistan include a mix of state-run and private mobile operators that also serve as the primary ISPs. The key players are:
24 February 2025
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Internet Access in Syria

Internet Access in Syria

Syria was relatively late in opening internet access to the public. An internet connection was established in the country by 1997, but for years Syria was the only connected Middle Eastern country that did not allow general public access Hrw. In the late 1990s, only government institutions and a few individuals could get online Hrw. This cautious rollout reflected official policy: the regime under President Hafez al-Assad took a “go-slow” approach, fearing the free flow of information. All media in Syria were tightly controlled, and officials were wary that the internet could enable dissent Hrw. Even Bashar al-Assad advocated for expanding internet access, but security services resisted due to concerns over “making it safe” for a traditional society Hrw. Public internet access only truly began around 2000, shortly after Bashar al-Assad took power Thenetmonitor. Once the internet was introduced, usage grew steadily, though under heavy state oversight. The first internet service providers were state-affiliated, and the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment became the principal gateway. By July 1998, about 35 Syrian government agencies were online Wikipedia, marking the initial step toward connectivity. In the early 2000s growth was modest – for example, in 2000 there were only about 30,000 users online Wikipedia.
7 February 2025
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