Pakistani officials on Wednesday attributed nationwide internet slowdowns to a “failure in an undersea cable,” amid growing anger over the situation. Many believe the steady decline in internet speeds is due to government attempts to monitor digital traffic, including testing new “firewalls,” but the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority insists it is the government’s web management system that is being upgraded.
“The slowdown in internet speeds in the country is due to a fault in an undersea cable, which is expected to be fixed by August 28. In my opinion, the upgrade should not slow down internet speeds. Telecom operators are [sector] suffered a loss [Rs] “$300 million,” Dawn quoted PTA chairman, retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman, as saying.
According to an update shared by the Pakistan Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, data speeds in the country have fallen by 30-40 percent over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information Technology and Communications Shaza Fatima Khawaja blamed the slowdown on excessive use of VPNs. As reported by The Express Tribune, she said measures were being taken to prevent internet problems and acknowledged the issues facing citizens due to widespread outages.
Earlier, the Lahore High Court on Saturday directed the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to submit their responses over the recent internet outage affecting millions of people in Pakistan.
Justice Shakil Ahmad issued a reserved judgment on Saturday while hearing a petition by Noman Sarwar against the nationwide internet “blackout”. He directed all parties involved to summon their representatives to the court and file their responses on August 21.
Previous reports had suggested the issue was due to a test of an internet firewall designed to regulate social media, a system of filters designed to block unwanted content from reaching a wide audience.
(With input from relevant agencies)
