ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced on Wednesday that internet speeds across Pakistan will likely remain slow until October due to ongoing repairs on a damaged submarine cable which are expected to be completed by ‘early October’.
The PTA’s statement comes as the country continues to experience significant disruptions in internet services. In recent weeks, users across Pakistan have reported a decrease in internet speeds, affecting both mobile data and broadband connections. This slowdown has made it challenging for users to send or download media, voice notes on WhatsApp, and has resulted in slow browsing speeds.
The PTA attributed the current internet issues to faults in two key submarine cables—SMW4 and AAE-1—out of the seven that connect Pakistan to the global internet network. The authority stated that repairs on the SMW-4 submarine cable are expected to be completed by early October 2024. The repair work on the AAE-1 cable is also expected to contribute to improved internet speeds once completed.
The PTA has dismissed allegations that the slowdown is due to government-imposed internet firewalls or throttling. The PTA clarified that the issues are strictly related to the malfunctioning submarine cables, and not to any recent changes in internet management or monitoring systems.
Earlier, State Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the government is upgrading its “web management system” to address cybersecurity threats but denied that this upgrade is responsible for the current slowdown. She said that the government’s actions are aimed at enhancing cybersecurity and not at throttling internet speeds.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja noted that the increased use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), driven by restrictions on certain services, has placed additional strain on the network.
Earlier, there were claims that the implementation of a new firewall system and increased monitoring of internet traffic might have contributed to the slowdown. These concerns were raised by the business community and internet service providers (ISPs).
