Internet services across the country are expected to remain slow till “early October” as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Wednesday that the submarine cable responsible for the disruptions would likely be repaired by then.
Internet speeds have witnessed a considerable decline over the past few weeks, and users are facing difficulties in sending or downloading media and voice notes through WhatsApp when connected to mobile data, and experiencing slow browsing speeds, even on broadband.
The business community and internet service providers had alleged that the government’s efforts to monitor internet traffic had caused the slowdown of digital services, resulting in economic losses.
In a statement, the PTA said the cyber slowdown was due to two submarine cables, one of which was yet to be repaired.
“The ongoing internet slowdown across the country is mainly due to [a] fault in two (SMW4, AAE-1) of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally. “It is updated that [the] fault in SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024,” the telecom authority said.
