Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major General (R) Hafeezur Rehman on Thursday denied that the internet was slow in Pakistan and further claimed that not a single virtual private network (VPN) has been blocked yet.
Addressing the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom in Islamabad today, he said the regulator will start licensing VPNs from January 1 onwards which he assured would solve all problems.
In response to the complaints of the committee on the authorities’ policy to slow down the internet in Pakistan, the chairman PTA said there was currently no such policy. Meanwhile, the IT Secretary added that internet services are only suspended in case of national security issues.
The chairman commented that if there is any such policy, then the regulator itself isn’t responsible for it and answers should be sought from the federal government.
Chairman Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and IT Enabled Services (P@SHA) said VPNs were commonly monitored by countries worldwide and suggested setting up VPN service providers. The chairman further explained that the IT industry suffers losses due to frequent internet shutdowns, with an estimated loss of $910,000 for every hour of disruption.
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