Pakistan boosts global connectivity with new high-speed submarine cable

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has taken a major leap in its digital infrastructure by officially connecting to the SEA-ME-WE 6 (SMW6) submarine cable system. It is touted as one of the fastest and highest-capacity networks in the world.

The development marks the country’s third major international cable link within a year, reflecting unprecedented momentum in Pakistan’s connectivity expansion.

Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima called the milestone a “significant achievement” that will enhance global integration and substantially strengthen the nation’s internet backbone.

Landing partner Trans World Associates (TWA) confirmed that the SMW6 connection will immediately add 4 terabits per second to the national bandwidth, boosting Pakistan’s current 13.2 Tbps capacity by roughly 40 per cent.

Stretching 21,700 kilometers from Singapore to France, the SMW6 system features 10 fiber pairs and a massive designed capacity of 132 terabits per second. It is built to support the rising demands of digital economies, cloud services, and international commerce, areas that Pakistan aims to strengthen as part of its broader IT-growth agenda.

The new link follows Pakistan’s integration with the Africa-1 and Africa-2 cables, marking rapid progress in diversifying and securing its international connectivity routes.

TWA also announced plans for a Tier 3–certified data center in Karachi, directly connected to major cables including SMW6, SMW5, TW1, and both Africa systems. It will be Pakistan’s first facility capable of supporting high-density racks tailored for AI-driven workloads. The data center is scheduled to go live in January 2026, providing advanced cloud infrastructure and content-delivery solutions to domestic and global enterprises.

Meanwhile, in a related regional development, Saudi Arabia and India have agreed to collaborate on a billion-dollar electricity transmission project, a cross-border undersea power cable aimed at enhancing energy security and grid stability between the two nations. The initiative signals growing cooperation on major infrastructure networks across South Asia and the Middle East.

Together, these advancements highlight a fast-transforming regional landscape where digital and energy connectivity are becoming central pillars of economic growth.