Submarine cable cuts disrupt internet services in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Internet users in Pakistan faced disruptions on Saturday due to submarine cable cuts in Saudi waters near Jeddah, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

In an official statement on social media, PTCL said the issue has partially impacted bandwidth capacity on two major undersea cable systems — SMW4 and IMEWE.

“We would like to inform that submarine cable cuts have occurred in Saudi waters near Jeddah, impacting Partial bandwidth capacity on SMW4 and IMEWE systems”, PTCL said. “As a result, internet users in Pakistan may experience some service degradation during peak hours”.

PTCL further stated that international partners are working on a priority to resolve the issue, while local teams are arranging alternative bandwidth to minimize the impact.

Data from Down Detector showed a noticeable spike in outage reports on Saturday. Disruptions began building overnight and peaked at 10:09 AM with 16 complaints, followed by another resurgence at 2:00 PM with at least 14 additional reports.

PTCL has assured users that efforts are underway to restore full service as quickly as possible and has thanked customers for their patience during the disruption.