Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Saturday that the degradation of Internet services across the country has been resolved by adding temporary bandwidth to the system.
On January 2, 2025, an ad-hoc bandwidth provision was made and added to the system to address the problem of degradation of Internet services due to a fault in the AAE1 submarine cable.
“Now there is no shortage of internet services across the country,” the PTA said.
PTA is actively monitoring the restoration efforts of the AAE-1 submarine cable and is committed to ensuring that all services remain stable during this period, the statement said.
The authority revealed last week that internet and broadband users may face disruptions due to a fault in the submarine cable AAE-1 near Qatar.
A fault was reported in submarine cable AAE-1 near Qatar, one of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan for international internet traffic.
Pakistan has been plagued by slow internet speeds since last year, with the government constantly blaming submarine cable failures, while reports hint at a possible “firewall” experiment by the authorities.
The internet slowdown has been particularly difficult for freelancers, who number over two million and contribute to the country’s growth.
Not only have the courts been sent to court against slow internet as well as social media disruptions, but government allies have also expressed frustration over persistent problems inside and outside Parliament.
Bilawal Bhutto, chairman of his ally Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), questioned why the fishes were only targeting Pakistan’s undersea fiber optic cables.
According to the list released by Okla Speedtest Global Index, Pakistan ranks 100 out of 111 countries in mobile internet speed with a download speed of 20.61Mbps and an upload speed of 8.53Mbps.
Meanwhile, the index ranked the country 141 out of 158 countries in broadband speed with a download speed of 15.60Mbps and an upload speed of 15.53Mbps.
However, in a positive development last month, it was revealed that a major undersea internet cable is being laid, which is expected to significantly increase internet speed and reliability.
The project falls under the 2Africa Submarine Cable System, facilitated by PTA through Trans World Associate (TWA) as the landing party for the cable in Pakistan.
The 2Africa cable, spanning 45,000 km, uses the latest SDM1 technology with a capacity of 180Tbps, connecting 46 locations in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The cable is expected to go live in Pakistan by Q4 2025, with the support of a global consortium that includes Meta and Vodafone, PTA announced in a press release.
Installation began on 1 December 2024, as the first phase of work, the pre-lease end (PLSE) installation included cable landing at Hawksbay, Karachi. The second phase of deep-sea cable laying is planned to start on April 1, 2025.
Once operational, the cable will provide 24 terabytes of bandwidth to Pakistan. A French company is involved in the installation of this 45,000 km long cable.
Better bandwidth will also improve the performance of platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Currently, Pakistan relies on about 8 terabytes of bandwidth provided by seven existing cables. The new system connecting the African region to Pakistan aims to improve connectivity and address longstanding complaints of slow internet speeds.