Internet woes to persist until Oct: PTA

PTA attributes slowdown to malfunctions in two submarine cables, with one still awaiting repair.

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) announced on Wednesday that internet services across the country are expected to remain sluggish until "early October" due to ongoing issues with a submarine cable.

While confirming that repairs were anticipated to be completed by then, the PTA, in a statement, attributed the slowdown to malfunctions in two submarine cables, with one still awaiting repair.

"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," the PTA explained.

"It is updated that [the] fault in SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024," it added.

The authority noted some improvement in internet performance following the repair of the AAE-1 cable but said that full restoration hinges on the completion of SMW-4 repairs.

The update comes after PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman, a retired major general, assured a National Assembly panel last week that the damaged submarine cable would be repaired by August 27 - an assurance that had faced scrutiny from both government and opposition members.

International concerns have also been raised, with Amnesty International urging Pakistani authorities to provide greater transparency regarding the nationwide internet slowdown and the potential use of monitoring and surveillance technologies.

Doug Madory, an internet expert, has also supported the PTA's claim, citing the reduced internet capacity in Pakistan due to the fault in the submarine cables.