Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that the ongoing internet slowdown across the country is mainly due to a fault in two (SMW4, AAE-1) of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally.
According to a news release issued by PTA, the fault in the SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024. Whereas submarine cable AAE-1 has been repaired this may improve internet experience.
It is pertinent to mention that the country has witnessed a considerable slowdown over the past few weeks, and 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.
On August 21, PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman claimed that a fault in a submarine cable is the primary reason behind the recent internet disruptions across Pakistan.
Briefing the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT), the PTA chief stated that Submarine Consortium has informed [us] that the internet [services] are affected due to a fault in the submarine cable which will be resolved by August 27.
He added that seven fibre optic cables are connected with Pakistan of which one is damaged.
During the meeting, several lawmaker grilled the PTA chief, expressing frustration over ongoing internet issues.
They questioned why TikTok was sometimes shut down, the internet was often slow, and firewalls were intermittently imposed, demanding clarification on the situation.
The PTA chief responded by saying the authority had no role in the internet slowdown and attributed it to technical issues.