PTCL, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, says teams are working to fix the internet downtime faced by customers across Pakistan.
These problems are mainly caused by a failed underwater cable. The problem was that the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) cable was being launched near Qatar and the country’s networks had slowed down. AAE-1, which connects Pakistan, India, UAE, Qatar and France, has been operational in Pakistan since 2017.
Pakistani consumers experienced a fluctuating slowdown from the start of 2024. While the PTA claimed that the problem is with the underwater cable.
While apologizing for the inconvenience, PTCL assured customers that staff is working to resolve the issue.
PTCL spokesperson Aamir Pasha confirmed that contacts are on with multinational teams to proactively address the issue.
Fault near Qatar is being reported to PTCL on regular basis. Critics criticized Minister Shaza Fatima for saying that no industry faced internet problems during the National Assembly hearing. MNA Sharmila Farooqui, who belongs to PPP, expressed her indignation over the negligence of the authorities.
Pakistan ranks 141st in the world for fixed broadband and 100th out of 111 countries in Okla’s October Speed Test Global Index with an average speed of 15.6 Mbps. Its average mobile internet speed was 20.61 Mbps.
Users had earlier complained of slow WhatsApp downloads, poor connectivity, and being limited to VPNs in recent months.
Since July, mobile data has risen from 101 to 100, while fixed broadband has risen from 145 to 141.
In the National Assembly, the government admitted that it monitors social media and throttles the internet for security reasons.
During these throttling events, users in Pakistan find themselves unable to access online services even if they try.
Businesses and individual consumers suffer greatly from the country’s inability to provide stable internet connectivity despite all the developments.
PTCL aims to regain stable network performance as soon as possible.
If we talk about 5G internet in the world, Pakistan is among the slowest internet countries in the world.
