ISLAMABAD – Pakistan, a country of over 242 million, continues to face slow internet, and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) linked slowdown with damaged SMW-4 submarine cable.
The national telecom operator said the internet disruption will last till October 2024. Two of the seven international submarine cables: SMW-4 and AAE-1 are being blamed for the slowdown.
It said repair work on SMW-4 cable is underway while AAE-1 cable has been fixed, which could lead to some improvement in internet performance.
Telecom authority also clarified that there is no role of digital firewall or changes in the government’s web management system behind the glitch, and that the issue is specific to submarine cables and does not impact other countries.
Earlier, millions of Pakistanis faced issues while surfing and some even used VPN to access blocked social sites. As of late August, PTA is registering VPNs rather than blocking them and emphasized that while freedom of expression is protected, content restrictions must adhere to specific guidelines.
