African Telecom Leaders Urge Governments to Adopt Internet Resilience Framework

Africa’s telecom leaders have called on governments and regulators to adopt and nationalise a Model Framework for Building Internet Resilience in Africa, endorsed at a virtual forum convened by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) , the Internet Society (ISOC)  and the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) .

The model framework structures Africa’s Internet-resilience challenge around three inter-dependent focus areas: Networks and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), critical infrastructure such as power grids and cables, and market conditions that influence affordability and demand.

Implementation of the framework would mean any entity or operator responsible for a vital part of a country’s Internet ecosystem, such as an electricity utility, a mobile network operator, an Internet service provider, an Internet Exchange Point, or a country-code top-level domain registry, will have to prepare a Plan for Resilience within one year, from the date the framework is officially adopted in the country.

The plan must then be reviewed and updated annually and be consistent with the entity or operator’s Continuity and Reconstitution Plans. It should set out how the organisation will incorporate the resilience qualities of redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapid recovery—key elements in achieving overall robustness—into its operations.

ATU Secretary-General John Omo, AFRINIC’s Head of Stakeholder Engagement, Mr. Arthur Carindal and ISOC’s Director of Internet Development, Mr. Kevin G. Chege drummed support for the Framework’s adoption, warning that the continent remains one cable-cut or nationwide blackout away from another digital standstill.

West Africa’s four-cable snap in March 2024 knocked out or throttled connectivity in 13 countries for days. Two months later, submarine fiber optic cable systems EASSy and SEACOM were sliced off the KwaZulu-Natal coast, and East African traffic limped along for three weeks until repairs finished in early June 2024. December’s six-hour nationwide power failure in Kenya caused substantial reduction in Internet access across the country, even as South Africa endured 300 days of load-shedding in 2023.

ATU’s John Omo cautioned that every blackout is a flashing red warning.

“Connectivity remains Africa’s nervous system and when it stutters, schools, hospitals and markets stutter too. This framework is our insurance policy against digital darkness.”

– John Omo, Secretary-General, ATU

“It is a great honour for AFRINIC to collaborate with ATU and ISOC in transformative initiative enabling all stakeholders to participate in developing Africa’s Internet resilience model framework, which highlights key policy recommendations and best practices for strengthening Internet infrastructure in Africa.”

– Arthur Carindal, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, AFRINIC

The Internet Society’s contributions to the framework build on years of data-driven engagement with African Internet performance. A central tool in this effort has been the Internet Society Pulse platform, which curates and shares real-time data on Internet availability, resilience, security, and adoption.

Mr. Chege described the current milestone as a critical phase in that effort.

“Investing in collecting various metrics to assess how resilient the Internet is across different countries, is the first step to achieving Internet Resilience, which is why the Internet Society Pulse is a key supporting part of this Framework. The model framework will help decision-makers in strengthening infrastructure and policy for more reliable Internet connectivity across Africa.”

– Kevin G. Chege, Director of Internet Development, Internet Society

The framework will be made available to member state administrations of ATU and thereafter published for visibility to all stakeholders.

“I urge member states to adopt this Framework and to be actively involved in its implementation.”

– John Omo, Secretary-General, ATU