Internet disruptions: teams working to solve the issue, says PTCL

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) announced on Friday that its teams are working diligently to address internet disruptions caused by a fault in one of the subsea cables connecting Pakistan.

The issue has slowed network speeds across the country since last night.

In a statement, PTCL acknowledged the inconvenience and assured users that teams are working to resolve the problem of Internet disruptions as soon as possible.

“Due to an international submarine cable outage, you may experience slow browsing issues,” the statement said. “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the fault occurred in the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) cable near Qatar.

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This cable, operational since 2017, links multiple countries, including Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy, and France.

Frequent slowdowns and internet disruptions in Pakistan during 2024 were previously linked to faults in the same cable.

While some attributed the issues to government monitoring of internet traffic, the PTA clarified in August that a damaged submarine cable was the cause.

PTCL spokesperson Amir Pasha talking to Dawn TV added that the company is in constant contact with international teams addressing the fault near Qatar. “We are receiving regular updates from them”.

Efforts are underway to restore normal internet connectivity at the earliest.