for the original undersea cable SAT-1 which was constructed in the 1960s. In November 2007, no internet access was available through SAT-3 for about seven days in parts of central Africa. A government official from Cameroon blamed a technical failure at the underwater SAT-3 high sea fibre optic terminal, about forty kilometres from Douala. Many ISPs in Cameroon had transitioned their connections from independent satellite connections to SAT-3 in mid-2007 creating serious communication difficulties during the seven days. In late July 2009, SAT-3 cable damage caused internet blackouts in multiple west African countries including Benin, Togo, Niger, and Nigeria. Togo and Niger were "completely offline" and Benin was able to "reroute its net traffic through neighboring countries." However, the three nations were able to use alternative satellite links in order to maintain some Internet communication with the rest of the world. Nigeria suffered a 70% loss of bandwidth that caused problems in banking, government and other mobile networks. President of the Nigeria Internet Group, Lanre Ajayi, said, "[the cable is] a critical national resource because of its importance to the economy and to security." Two weeks may pass before the cable is fixed. See also List of international submarine communications cables Individual cable systems off the coast of Africa include: Atlantis-2 Argentina linked to Portugal EASSy East Africa Cable linking South Africa and East African nations. LION Main One Portugal linked to West Africa SAT-2 Portugal linked to South Africa SEACOM East coast of Africa GLO-1 Nigeria to the UK ACE South Africa linked to France WACS South Africa linked to the United Kingdom References External links Official SAT-3/WASC/SAFE Homepage The Sat3 Fibre - a Monopoly That Stands in the Way of Cheaper International Bandwidth What Must Happen when SAT3’s Monopoly Comes to an End? (CIPACO) Submarine communications cables in the North Atlantic Ocean Submarine communications cables in the South Atlantic Ocean Internet in Africa 2001 establishments in Africa 2001 establishments in Europe