Internet outage takes heavy toll on e-commerce

Businessmen caution poor services are a hurdle to ‘Uraan Pakistan’ programme

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KARACHI:

Criticising the failure to fulfil basic responsibilities, Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI) President Muhammad Saleem Memon has appealed to the government to take serious notice of a major telecom company’s negligence, as it is taking a heavy toll on the national economy due to the disruption to operations of many e-commerce sites and online businesses.

Above all, poor services are causing hindrances in the “Uraan Pakistan” programme announced by the prime minister, aimed at taking the IT sector to new heights.

In a statement on Saturday, Memon urged Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) to enhance the quality of services and ensure uninterrupted internet availability to achieve the objectives of the Uraan Pakistan project and steer the country towards growth.

He asked company management to immediately install backup batteries in all affected areas to ensure internet connectivity during power outages.

Instead of depending completely on Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco)’s electricity supply, PTCL should install backup batteries in key areas such as Hirabad, Anaj Mandi, Tower Market and other parts of the city, he said.

There is already a big question mark over the poor services of Hesco, which is resorting to 10-hour load-shedding in a day, during which internet services also remain dysfunctional.

Apart from students, the blanket internet disruption has impeded the growth of businesses, and is taking a heavy toll on e-commerce, food delivery services, courier companies, freelancers, pathology laboratories and other essential services, which are heavily dependent on the internet.

He said that in today’s modern era, internet access had become a basic necessity. However, the suspension of internet services during power outages is disrupting the daily operations of the business community. He added that the federal government’s Uraan Pakistan programme was a critical initiative aimed at stabilising the national economy and promoting the IT sector. The project’s goals include generating $5 billion annually through freelancing and imparting training to 200,000 IT professionals every year.

However, the interruption in internet services and the lack of backup batteries during power outages create a significant hurdle to the success of this project. Without consistent internet availability, the training of IT professionals and achieving the export targets for IT services are impossible.