Internet speed is once again a major challenge during peak hours across the country due to backend issues on two undersea cable routes and data traffic congestion on the remaining submarine cables connecting Pakistan to the international network.
Industry sources told ProPakistani that internet services have been comparatively slow on the networks of internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile operators from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The slowdown has affected individuals and businesses, particularly those dealing with foreign clients in the United States and European markets.
Customers continue to face inconvenience and business losses as multiple services become difficult to access, including live streaming, gaming, video conferencing, video-sharing, large downloads, banking transactions, and other high-bandwidth applications. The recent internet slowdown has dealt a direct and severe blow to Pakistan’s emerging call center industry.
Nabeel Akhtar, Senior Vice President of the Call Center Association of Pakistan (CCAP), said:
Every hour of internet downtime costs millions of dollars in compounded revenue loss and raises the risk of contract terminations with foreign clients.
He added that while call centers can cope with power outages through various backup options, there are no alternative systems when it comes to internet infrastructure, nor can such systems be independently created.
Akhtar emphasized:
We urge the government to compel internet service providers to invest immediately in more resilient and robust digital infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the call center industry, thereby securing a vital source of foreign revenue for Pakistan.
Abid Beli, owner of a co-working space, said that slow internet speeds continue to affect operations and service quality at co-working stations, primarily impacting freelancers and small businesses. He added that co-working facilities have had to make additional investments in switches and specialized software solutions to maintain internet performance for their clients.
“The government should introduce satellite internet services in Pakistan to avoid undersea cable disruptions and meet the country’s growing demand for high-speed connectivity,” he suggested.
Shahzad Arshad, Chairman of the Wireless & Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, said that Pakistan’s undersea cables handling data traffic have suffered multiple technical faults, one after another.
He explained:
Recently, there have been both physical failures, such as cable cuts and repeater faults, as well as planned repair and maintenance activities on major Asia–Europe routes (for example, SMW4 and IMEWE). Additionally, geopolitical and security risks in chokepoints like the Red Sea have further complicated operations and repair efforts.
He further stated that, in addition to international issues, local challenges must also be addressed to improve internet services and meet the country’s growing digital demand.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), there are over 152 million broadband subscribers in Pakistan, and a significant majority are active internet users.
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We had no such issues pre 2024. And now we are back in internet slowdown
My internet is slow but my charges are not reduced.
Why ?
Slow internet ka… charges Reduce hone se kia taluk 😂
Slow hai reason ki wajha se hai… Pakistan ki 6-8 submarine cables ma se 2 to 3 cables damaged hain from September onward and maintainance is still on going. We are not alone effected by submarine cable. Almost whole Asian countries and Africa also effected from this event.
Stay informed
“We had no such issues pre 2024” – You were either born yesterday or you just like lying and spreading misinformation like you do on most articles.
Feel free to prove me wrong . I have never stopped anyone or disregarded any counter points.
Though I see you haven’t listed any.
Would a simple Google search of submarine cable outages prior to 2024 not prove my point?
Feb, Oct & Dec 2021, multiple occurences in 2022 (March, Aug, Nov), and Oct/Nov 2023 as well. But you just like to act smart and pretend that you are some all knowing genius who nobody can argue with.
The only reason the impact is particularly strong this time around is that in the previous outages, typically only one cable is cut or damaged, however this time, 3 cables that affect PK internet traffic directly were cut.
Not everything is a conspiracy theory or Govt shutdown, sometimes there are real issues but people like you love spreading a false narrative that everything is deliberate and accidents don’t happen.
Internet users Pakistan mein Increase hooo rahee hain Lekin Bandwidth or Submarine cables wahi Old or Limited hai. Pakistan ke sath New or best Submarine cables Connect karein as soon as Possible or acha infrastructure Banaien.Fiber Optic ki expansion karein Poore Pakistan mein or Isp ka competition Increase karein or Tax wagaira or Faltoo charges kam karein.Pakistan mein internet pehle hi bohat mehanga hai Compared to other Countries jab ke Income bohat kam hai compared to other countries.Jaldi se jaldi internet theek ker dein or New Submarine cables or better infrastructure bhi banaien or Competition ziada karein or Charges or Taxes kam karein Jaldi
So the cables get cut at 7pm and reattach themselves at 11pm each day? The heading says “Here’s why internet slows down between 7pm and 11pm” and all it talks about are the cable cuts.
Cable cuts have been happening for the last couple of decades and they usually got fixed within days. And in recent years they stopped being a big issue thanks to bigger and more backup links.
Why is this one taking months to fix and how can other countries that rely on the same cables still have functional internet, but Pakistanis can’t?
The slowdown and other connectivity issues have become persistent the last couple of years, and there’s always a new reason given for them.
in ka rooz rooz masly aty hain tamsaha lagya ho ha ino na
Penyakia laga rahe hai ye penyak hakoomat bc duniya 5g pe puhnchi hai pakistan 2g ni chala para ager cables ka issue hai to koi hal to ga na ya aese e chor do