Islamabad, Jan 4: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) confirmed slow internet speeds due to a fault in the AAE-1 submarine cable near Qatar, affecting international traffic. PTCL assured users that repair efforts are underway, apologizing for the inconvenience.
Key Details of the Outage
- The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) acknowledged disruptions stemming from the AAE-1 cable, one of seven cables linking Pakistan to the global internet.
- The fault has exacerbated internet issues, particularly affecting over two million freelancers who rely on stable connections for their work.
Pakistan’s Internet Challenges
- The country ranks 100th in mobile internet speeds (20.61 Mbps) and 141st in broadband speeds (15.60 Mbps) globally, per Ookla’s Speedtest Index.
- Persistent disruptions have spurred legal and parliamentary actions, with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto sarcastically blaming recurring faults on “fish targeting Pakistan’s cables.”
As repair teams work to restore services, the outage highlights the need for robust infrastructure to prevent frequent internet slowdowns in the future.
