Congo Experienced Brief Connectivity Disruption on August 12

The Republic of the Congo experienced a brief but sharp degradation in internet connectivity on August 12, 2026. The disruption was observed between 17:27 and 18:04 UTC, lasting approximately 37 minutes. The event registered a severity score of 3,700, with the primary impact seen on network backscatter measurements.

Technical Details

The merit-nt signal, which serves as a proxy for aggregate internet connectivity by measuring backscatter traffic, recorded a drop of 98% from its peak during the event. The signal’s median value fell from a typical average of 43.07 to a low of 1.4. Other key network signals showed minimal deviation. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) control plane, which governs routing announcements, remained stable. Active probing for IPv4 reachability also showed only a minor 5% reduction from its peak.

The cause has not been publicly attributed. Connectivity was reported restored by 18:04 UTC.