The Republic of Congo is preparing to connect to a new undersea cable in response to faults on the WACS system that have disrupted internet access in recent weeks. Authorities said technical studies started late last week and are expected to be completed within two weeks.
Benjamin Mouandza, director of networks and electronic communications services at the Posts and Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (ARPCE), said the link could be operational within three weeks if the work proceeds as scheduled. Officials did not disclose the cost or provide technical specifications. Mouandza added that he hoped the future “Dow Africa” cable—delayed due to construction setbacks—would bolster national connectivity once it enters service.
The plan comes amid a marked decline in service quality. For weeks, users across Congo have reported repeated outages and extremely slow speeds linked to problems affecting the WACS undersea cable, according to a statement published on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy on Jan. 16. The ministry described WACS as one of Africa’s key undersea fibre-optic links.
Congo has depended on WACS for international internet access since 2012. The country also connected to the 2Africa cable, backed by Meta, in August 2023, but the system does not yet appear to be operational in Congo. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, which also connected to 2Africa in 2023, the cable only became operational in December 2025.
Authorities said the new connection would allow operators to improve service quality and availability as digitalisation accelerates. Official sources estimate that more than 3.5 million people use the internet daily in Congo, out of a population of nearly 6 million.
Telecommunications Minister Leon Juste Ibombo has instructed operators to immediately reinforce resilience measures, including activating backup routes despite the additional cost. He also urged closer cooperation with neighbouring countries to diversify sources of connectivity and requested detailed technical plans to permanently resolve the WACS faults
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