Karachi, January 3, 2025 – Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has issued an alert notifying users of potential slow internet browsing due to a disruption in an international submarine cable.
The fault, located in the Africa-Asia-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable near Qatar, has affected internet and broadband services across Pakistan.
“Due to an international submarine cable outage, you may experience slow browsing issues. Teams are working diligently to resolve the matter as soon as possible,” PTCL stated on Friday. The company expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and assured users that efforts were underway to restore normal connectivity.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) also confirmed the issue, highlighting the impact on Pakistan’s internet traffic. “This is to inform the general public that a fault has been reported in the submarine cable AAE-1 near Qatar, one of the seven international undersea cables connecting Pakistan for international internet traffic,” PTA said in a statement on Thursday. The regulatory body noted that the disruption might temporarily affect the user experience nationwide.
The AAE-1 submarine cable, operational since 2017, connects several countries, including Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Oman, Qatar, and Europe. This critical infrastructure supports a significant portion of Pakistan’s international internet connectivity, making faults like these highly disruptive.
PTA reassured the public that technical teams were actively working to address the issue. “PTA is monitoring the situation and will keep updating telecom users accordingly,” the authority added.
The disruption comes amid broader concerns about Pakistan’s internet infrastructure. Speaking to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman revealed that four new submarine cables are being introduced to improve the country’s internet capacity and resilience against such disruptions.
Despite these planned upgrades, Pakistan continues to face challenges in internet performance. According to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index for October, the country ranked 141 out of 158 nations for fixed broadband speeds, with a median speed of 15.6 Mbps. For mobile data, it ranked 100 out of 111 countries, with a median speed of 20.61 Mbps.
This incident underscores the need for a more robust internet infrastructure to minimize service disruptions and ensure reliable connectivity for Pakistan’s growing digital economy.