PTA shares update on internet disruption

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) shared an update on the recent internet slowdown across the country, ARY News reported.

In a statement issued here, the PTA cited the malfunction of marine cables as the primary reason for slow internet speeds in the country.

“It is to inform to the general public that the ongoing internet slowdown and degradation of services across the country are due to a fault in two of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally,” the PTA said in a statement.

It added that the AAE-1 cable has experienced a 250G outage due to rerouting between Iran and Qatar, similarly, SMW 4 cable (1.5T) has been out of service due to faults near Karachi.

“Operators are re-routing traffic on other available cables to minimize the impact on internet users in Pakistan. The concerned teams are fixing the fault and the PTA is monitoring the situation till internet speeds are normalised in the country,” the PTA added.

It said that the SMW4 submarine cable is expected to be repaired by October 2024.

It is may be noted here that Pakistan is facing internet service disruption and the issues are linked to the implementation of internet firewalls, which was installed at a country’s main internet gateways to monitor and filter traffic. While these systems can control or block content on websites and social media platforms, authorities claim that, they also have the capability to trace the origin of objectionable material.

READ: Slow internet sparks concerns among Pakistani freelancers

Earlier, Minister of State for IT, Shaza Fatima claimed that the widespread use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) caused internet disruption in Pakistan.

During a news conference in Islamabad, Shaza Fatima stated that the internet was neither blocked nor deliberately slowed down, but rather that the increased use of VPNs caused technical strain on the network.

She mentioned that as certain services became restricted, more users turned to VPNs, which she claimed negatively impacted internet speed in the country.