ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 16: According to reports, the internet business is losing $50 million every day as a result of the ongoing problems. This has had an especially negative impact for IT exports, which are losing almost $13 million per day, underscoring the industry’s unique effects.
Some reports suggest that the recent firewall installation may be the cause of these internet issues; however, the Ministry of Information Technology has not yet offered a clear explanation for the disruption.
Shaza Fatima, the minister of state for information technology, has acknowledged that the government has asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for data in order to evaluate the effect on data traffic during the previous two weeks. “We will be in a position to say something as soon as the data comes in,” she said.
In the midst of the confusion, representatives of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) have hypothesized that the internet problems may be caused by a solar storm.
According to Dr. Roshnan Nadeem, a PhD scholar at Suparco, solar activity has impacted radio frequencies and resulted in brief satellite outages, which may exacerbate issues with GPS and cellular network connection.
The restricted utilization of outdated cables and spectrum is the reason given by IT professionals for the poor internet speeds. According to telecom affairs specialist Parvez Iftikhar, mobile phones are the primary means of accessing the internet in Pakistan, necessitating the use of mobile spectrum. He pointed out that Pakistan has some of the least amount of mobile spectrum in the area and that not enough optical fiber has been installed in the nation. The inadequate internet speeds are partly caused by this shortfall.
Online companies have been affected in a cascading manner by the outage. enterprises are having trouble finding and downloading data, and freelancers on sites like Fiverr and Amazon are seeing a decline in customer orders. Additionally, there are communication problems that arise for enterprises. While students are having trouble making and accessing notes, entrepreneurs are reporting longer workdays in an effort to make up for the sluggish internet.
An internet company owner stated, “We used to work for five to six hours, but now we have to work for ten hours.”
One frustrated online business owner shared their experience: “I want to send a few documents and a small video to the office, but it’s been half an hour with no progress. The internet is so slow that it’s affecting my productivity, and the administrative hurdles are adding to the frustration.”
An IT professional says businessmen sitting abroad are not trusting Pakistanis. Problem in data searching and downloading, problem in creating notes, students
As the situation continues to develop, both businesses and individuals are bracing for prolonged disruptions and potential economic losses. IT professionals are urging for immediate solutions to address the ongoing issues and mitigate the impact on the country’s digital economy.
