| Internet services fail clients over weekend | Send to a friend |
| Monday, 26 April 2010 23:25 |
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Tanzania went without internet services in the festive weekend because of what was described as technical problems experienced by a major internet service provider. Subscribers of Africa Online were the most hit, as they could not access the services on Sunday and Monday. Mobile internet subscribers were, however, not affected. A spot check by The Citizen in Dar es Salaam yesterday found many internet cafes closed, leaving customers in need of the service stranded. A technician at Africa Online, Mr Abdul Msuya, said the problem originated from Seacom Tanzania, their main bandwidth supplier, that had experienced a breakdown. “The problem is beyond our control. We were notified by our provider, Seacom Tanzania, that they were undertaking some cable maintenance at their station since Sunday and expected to rectify the problem by today,” said Mr Msuya. He said they have been receiving many calls from customers asking for clarification on what was going on following the disruption. “I have been receiving many calls from our clients regarding the matter, but I am sure this is not affecting us alone. All ISPs depending on Seacom must be experiencing the same problem,” said the technician. Some people that could not do without internet service had to use mobile modems which they said were slower than normal. “I think this is due the fact that most modems that we use are operated by mobile phones that are also linked to Seacom,” said Mr Richard Mbunda, a student at the University of Dar es Salaam. Efforts to reach the Seacom Tanzania Limited managing director, Ms Anna Kahama-Rupia, proved futile as her phone went unanswered. But a director of the firm, Mr Michael Njumba, said he was not aware of the problem. “To the best of my knowledge, since its landing at the Kunduchi shores, Seacom never experienced any technical problem,” he said. Without saying if there was any cable maintenance going on within the company, he explained that the main challenge has been to convince clients to build infrastructures that would connect them to the landing station. “Most of them (ISPs) are still using satellite which, in my view, is not an efficient way to get a reliable internet service,” he said. Analysts say such disruption could be among setbacks of the optic fibre connection. Since its landing in Dar es Salaam in July, the submarine connection has been well received and was expected to offer high speed and reliable internet services. However, more than eight months later, many internet users are yet to feel a major change in terms of speed and operational costs that were initially advertised to be almost halved. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
