Islamabad, August 22, 2024 – Internet services across Pakistan have been significantly disrupted due to a fault in one of the submarine cables that connect the country to the global network, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The issue was highlighted during a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, chaired by Amin ul Haque.
PTA Chairman Major General Hafeez ur Rehman (Retired) informed the committee that a fault in one of the seven fibre optic cables has severely impacted internet connectivity. “Seven fibre optic cables connect Pakistan internationally; one of them is currently down. The consortium responsible for the cable has indicated that repairs should be completed by August 27,” he stated. The outage of this cable, which carries 7.5 terabytes of data, has particularly affected services for users relying on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
The PTA chairman also addressed concerns about the financial impact of the outage, revealing that the telecom sector has suffered losses of approximately Rs300 million, though the full extent of the damage to the IT sector remains unclear. “Most of the IT sector is undocumented, and it is yet to be verified how much loss was incurred,” said a Member of the Telecom Division.
In addition to the submarine cable issue, the PTA chairman discussed the ongoing upgrade of the National Firewall System (NFS), which aims to monitor social media content. The upgrade, approved in March 2019, had been delayed due to financial constraints but is now being implemented. Rehman emphasized that while the firewall is being enhanced, privacy concerns are being addressed, noting that social media platforms are end-to-end encrypted, and there is no current technology capable of accessing such encrypted data.
The session also touched on the legal status of VPN usage in Pakistan. Rehman clarified that VPNs are not being blocked, but companies are required to register them. “VPNs are not blocked in the world [as] it affects businesses,” he added.
Frustration among committee members grew when the CEO of PTCL failed to attend the session, prompting Chairman Amin ul Haq to issue a directive summoning the CEO to the next meeting.
Looking forward, the PTA chairman announced that 562 MHz of spectrum would be offered in an upcoming auction, with plans for a 5G auction by April 2025. He stressed the importance of keeping spectrum costs low to benefit consumers, citing comparisons with Saudi Arabia’s spectrum pricing. The PTA is also actively working to attract new companies to participate in the auction, aiming to enhance competition in the market.
