22 August 2025
As internet disruptions continue to challenge the continent, African telecom leaders have urged governments and regulators to adopt and implement a Model Framework for Building Regional Internet Resilience.
The initiative has garnered endorsements from key organisations including the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), the Internet Society, and the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC).
The framework structures Africa’s internet resilience challenge around three interconnected focus areas: networks and internet service providers (ISPs), critical infrastructure such as power grids and undersea cables, and market conditions that impact affordability and demand. In a joint statement, these organisations emphasised that once enacted, entities responsible for vital components of a country's internet ecosystem — such as electricity utilities, mobile network operators, ISPs, internet exchange points, and country-code top-level domain registries — must develop a resilience plan within one year of the framework's official adoption.
The statement highlighted previous disruptions, including the West Africa Cable System failure in March 2024, which temporarily severed internet access for 13 countries, illustrating the urgent need for resilient infrastructure.
The framework stipulates that resilience plans should be regularly reviewed and updated annually, ensuring compatibility with each organisation’s continuity and recovery strategies. It also encourages embedding resilience features such as redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapid recovery into operational practices — elements deemed essential for achieving overall robustness.
The ATU has warned that every blackout serves as a stark warning, underscoring the importance of the framework as a safeguard against outages.
“Connectivity is Africa’s nervous system, and when it stutters, schools, hospitals, and markets also suffer. This framework is our insurance policy against darkness,” said John Omo, Secretary General of ATU.
