The Cable Consortium of Liberia (CCL) has announced the start of a major operation to reroute and replace a section of the country’s fiber optic cable infrastructure, aimed at improving Liberia’s internet resilience and long-term connectivity— a move the company says is entirely technical and has no political motives.
In an effort to dispel rumors of political undertone associated with the initiative, CCL Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Henry W. Benson, noted that the initiative is being done on a professional level to keep the country’s internet access available to the population.
Speaking ahead of the arrival of a specialized ship, which is set to dock at the Freeport of Monrovia on Tuesday, April 22, Benson said, “In furtherance of the exercise we embarked upon at the PHP Sports Complex, we are now progressing to the second phase of that work,” Benson said. “Let the public be reminded that the only reason we embarked upon this was to reroute the cable-the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable.”
According to him, Liberia’s undersea fiber optic cable currently runs beneath the PHP Sports Stadium and terminates at the main hall of the BYC Complex. This location became a major concern after a shunt fault in August 2024 rendered the cable inaccessible for repair.
Amid rumors suggesting political motives behind the timing and location of the project, the CCL CEO firmly dismissed such claims.
The controversy over internet access adds to ongoing public discontent surrounding the PHP Park saga. Earlier in March, the government came under fire for plans to dig up part of the newly-inaugurated PHP Park—constructed under the Weah administration—to reroute the country’s only fiber optic cable, which runs directly beneath the park.
Inaugurated in December 2023, PHP Park was praised as a symbol of progress, featuring modern sports facilities and recreational spaces. However, it has now become a flashpoint in Liberia’s infrastructure debate after it was revealed that the park’s monument was built on the cable’s original landing point, obstructing access to a key node of national connectivity.
“This has nothing — absolutely nothing — to do with any politics. It has no political implication,” Benson stated. “Unlike what is being said in some corners, this is not a political tool to infringe on the legacy of the ex-president. It has nothing to do with former President Weah. It has nothing to do with President Boakai either. It has all to do with the Liberian people. We want to fix it. We want to make it right.”
“Currently, we have the optical fiber running underneath the sports stadium and terminating at the main hall at the BYC Complex,” he explained. “And when we had the shunt fault in August of last year, there was no way we could access that cable. And up to today, the cable still has a fault. We’ve just kind of put a bandage on it to keep it running until we can bring in a new cable, splash it out, and have brand-new connectivity.”
The ship carrying the replacement cable and specialized equipment is expected to arrive on Tuesday, with offloading to be done at the CCL compound and the PHP Beach. The main installation work is set to begin on Wednesday, April 23, and is projected to last up to eight days.
“In terms of timing, we think this is going to run up to eight days. Hopefully, we’ll have it done sooner,” Benson noted. “But again, this is a technical issue. Things can happen. The important thing is, we do have the requisite procedures and processes in place to combat any unexpected events.”
Benson emphasized that the rerouting project is intended to provide easier access for future repairs and prevent prolonged outages like the one experienced last year.
“We’re getting rid of the old cable, putting in a new one,” he said. “But most importantly, we’ve created this new route so that if we have an eventuality like the one, we had in August, we don’t have to go through this whole exercise again. We can easily access the cable and fix it.”
Benson took pride in the quality of Liberia’s current data infrastructure and underscored that the project is meant to strengthen that even further.
“I’m very excited to say I’m proud when it comes to the network we have in Liberia. Our data network is one of the best in West Africa,” he declared. “You can play a movie, you can download stuff, and the latency is extremely low compared to some of the countries that we visit. That’s only because of the infrastructure we have in place — and we want to improve upon that.”
The PHP cable rerouting project, according to the CCL, is being undertaken strictly to protect and future-proof Liberia’s digital backbone, ensuring uninterrupted internet service and better access for maintenance teams.
“This is technical stuff,” Benson concluded. “We don’t fault ourselves for what happened. It happens everywhere — software and hardware break down. The question is: do you have access, and do you have the capability to fix it? We have the capability. Now, we are making sure we have access.”
“That cable still has a fault,” Benson explained. “We’ve just put a bandage on it to keep it running until we can bring in a new cable, splash it out, and have a brand-new connection.”
“I’d like to take this opportunity to inform the public — don’t be alarmed,” Benson added. “This is pretty much an exercise that we think is going to improve, enhance our connectivity.”
Meanwhile, to mitigate service disruptions, the LTA has authorized Orange Liberia to establish cross-border fiber-optic connections with operators in Cote D’Ivoire for international internet connectivity.
Considering the critical nature of the Internet for communication and national development, the LTA has declared these cross-border fiber-optic connections Essential Facilities. “This declaration requires Orange Liberia to provide access to other Service providers on fair and reasonable terms to ensure internet services remain uninterrupted for end-users.
“All Service Providers are encouraged to seek access to orange cross-border fiber connections. It is anticipated that with this intervention, services will remain stable for end-users.”
