Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (Retd.) Hafeez ur Rehman, recently addressed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information regarding a significant disruption in internet services across the country. The fault in a submarine cable has been identified as the primary cause of the internet outage, with repairs expected to be completed by August 27. The committee meeting, chaired by Syed Amin ul Haque, saw participation from IT Minister Shiza Fatima, PTA Chairman Major General (Retd.) Hafeez ur Rehman, Opposition Leader Umar Ayub, Barrister Gohar, Mustafa Kamal, and other members. During the session, it was highlighted that the slowdown in internet speed had been attributed to multiple factors beyond the submarine cable fault.
A prevalent misconception was that the installation of a new firewall was the chief reason behind the internet speed issues. Minister of State for IT Shiza Fatima noted that the heavy usage of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) has also played a significant role in the disruptions. The recent ban on X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan led many users to rely on VPNs to access the platform, further straining the country’s internet services. The firewall, intended to block misleading propaganda from foreign sources via social media, was also mentioned as a contributing factor to the slowdown. While the firewall’s objective was to combat misinformation, its impact on internet performance seems to have been underestimated by the authorities. Additionally, the fault in the submarine cable has compounded these issues, affecting both businesses and services that depend heavily on stable internet connectivity.
The PTA Chairman reported that the telecom sector alone has faced losses amounting to Rs 300 million over the past six days. This figure underscores the broader financial damage, potentially extending into billions of rupees across various sectors reliant on internet services. As the repair work on the submarine cable continues, it remains crucial for the relevant departments to address the additional complications caused by the X ban, VPN usage, and firewall impact. Timely resolution of these issues by August 27 is essential to mitigate further losses and support businesses struggling due to these disruptions. The coordination between different authorities and swift action in resolving these interconnected problems will be critical in restoring normalcy and ensuring uninterrupted internet services across the country.
- #InternetDisruption,
- #PTAUpdate,
- #FirewallImpact,
- #SubmarineCableRepair,
- #VPNUsage,
- #XBanEffect,
- #InternetSlowdown,
- #RestoreConnectivity,
- #PakistanTelecom,
- #DigitalResilience,
