Adding to the growing frustration of internet users across Pakistan, local Internet Service Provider (ISP) Nayatel has confirmed that its customers are experiencing slow internet speeds.
This confirmation comes via an email to customers, acknowledging the ongoing issues and attributing them to problems with their upstream links. The email, seen by Nayatel subscribers today, stated:
You might be facing intermittent degradation on internet services due to an issue at upstream links. Our teams are already looking into it for earliest resolution. We are sorry for the trouble.
This news from Nayatel arrives amidst widespread reports of internet degradation affecting various ISPs in Pakistan. Notably, PTCL, the country’s largest internet service provider, has also been facing complaints of sluggish speeds, indicating a broader national issue.
While the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had earlier this month stated that internet degradation due to a submarine cable fault had been resolved with temporary bandwidth fixes, the current situation suggests these measures have not provided a lasting solution.
As of today, popular social apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, and others are reportedly working at significantly reduced speeds, making communication frustrating for many.
The Downdetector website for Nayatel, while showing no current widespread outages, does feature user comments from earlier in January expressing concerns about service reliability.
Nayatel’s email mention of “upstream links” seems to confirm the issue many are facing with apps like WhatsApp. Users are reporting text messages are taking forever to send (which requires upstream speed), but incoming messages and media seem to be working fine.
It remains unclear how long it will take for Nayatel and other ISPs to fully resolve these connectivity issues. Nayatel’s email offers no specific timeline, only stating that their teams are working towards the “earliest resolution.”
Meanwhile, PTA is now blaming telecom infrastructure after VPNs for internet slowdowns in Pakistan.