TelOne Explains & Apologises For 3 Hour Internet Blackout

A majority of TelOne subscribers experienced an internet blackout earlier today. The internet service provider has issued a statement explaining what went wrong and apologised to subscribers.

You can read TelOne’s full statement below:

To Our Valued Clients and Stakeholders

TelOne regrets to inform all our valued stakeholders and clients of the 2hours 55 minutes national internet blackout that occurred on the TelOne network from 1254hrs to 1519hrs today 3 June 2020.

The blackout which affected our traffic resulting in almost all our clients including other Internet Service Providers riding on our network being down was due to two simultaneous fibre cuts on our backbone fibre links on the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare and Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Harare routes. The network which ideally should be self-healing suffered the highly unlikely double blow due to negligence on the part of third party road works and clearing contractors.

Specifically, the damage on the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Harare highway was caused by construction equipment which was uprooting trees in preparation for a service station construction 15km from Kwekwe towards Kadoma at 1058hrs. While work to restore service was underway another fibre cut occurred along the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare highway due to a cut by road works contractor which occurred 12 kilometres from Masvingo towards Chatsworth at 1254hrs.

Both cuts occurred despite our fibre being clearly marked. TelOne will, therefore, pursue available options for recourse for the damage which has greatly affected our clients and disrupted our business.

Furthermore, we call on all responsible stakeholders involved directly or indirectly in this mishap to vigilantly ensure that the clearly marked fibre, which is a national asset is protected at all times. We would like to most sincerely apologise to all our valued clients and stakeholders for the inconvenience that this unfortunate incident has caused. We assure you of our continued strive to deliver excellent service at all times.

Chipo Mtasa – Managing Director

Tldr: There was a double cut on TelOne’s backbone fibre links caused by Construction workers. The statement suggests that TelOne will be seeking recourse for the mistake since they feel both cuts shouldn’t have occurred with their infrastructure marked clearly.