ISLAMABAD – Slow internet speeds are expected across Pakistan starting April 14 as maintenance begins on major international submarine cable system.
The country of around 250 million is bracing for wave of internet slowdowns as scheduled maintenance on a major international submarine cable system will affect connectivity this week.
PTCL alerted customers that an international submarine cable consortium will be carrying out urgent repair work on one of its undersea communication lines to fix a technical fault. The operation is part of a large-scale maintenance effort on the global internet infrastructure.
The repair activity is scheduled to start on 14 April 2026 and may continue until 20 April 2026, raising concerns of nationwide service disruptions during this period. Internet users across Pakistan could experience noticeable slowdowns and unstable connectivity, with the most severe impact expected during evening peak hours, when online traffic is at its highest.
The telecom giant warned that while technical teams will work to minimize disruption, some level of service degradation is unavoidable due to the complexity and international scale of the submarine cable repairs.
Acknowledging the inconvenience, the company has issued an apology and advised users to prepare for temporary fluctuations in internet performance throughout the maintenance window
As 5G is being rolled out in Pakistan, internet quality for most users remains slow and unreliable because the core infrastructure is still weak. The country’s fiber-optic backbone and telecom network capacity are not fully developed, which limits overall speed and stability.
Most Pakistanis still rely on 4G networks, and in many areas even basic connectivity struggles during peak hours. Also, 5G coverage is limited mainly to select locations rather than nationwide availability, so its impact is not widely felt.
Users also lamented high costs, slow investment in telecom upgrades, power outages, and maintenance problems further affect service quality.
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