Home ›› World ›› South Asia
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has claimed that a fault in a submarine cable is the primary reason behind the recent internet disruptions experienced across the country.
In a briefing to the Pakistan’s Standing Committee on Information Technology, PTA Chairman Hafiz Rahman explained that a fault in one of the seven fiber optic cables bringing 7.5 terabits of data into Pakistan has caused the service disruptions, international media reports say.
He stated that this particular cable is expected to be repaired by August 27.
The PTA chairman refuted earlier claims made by Pakistan’s Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima, that the widespread use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) was to blame for the internet issues.
Hafiz clarified that the submarine cable fault was a localized problem for Pakistan and not a global outage. Responding to questions from the committee members, the PTA chief acknowledged the impact the disruption has had on local internet services and freelancers.
He reassured that the authorities are closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary steps to restore full connectivity as soon as the damaged cable is repaired.
Pakistan’s Internet speeds have witnessed a considerable decline over the past few weeks, and the country’s users are facing difficulties in sending or downloading media and voice notes through WhatsApp when connected to mobile data, and experiencing slow browsing speeds, even on broadband.
The business community and internet service providers (ISPs) had alleged that the Pakistani government’s efforts to monitor internet traffic – including a so-called ‘firewall’ – had caused the slowdown of digital services, resulting in economic losses.
