Internet services disrupted across Pakistan as submarine cables go offline

Published October 29, 2019
Internet users across the country will experience downgraded speeds until the fault is fixed.
Internet users across the country will experience downgraded speeds until the fault is fixed.

Internet services across the country were impacted on Tuesday evening, following a fault that developed in international submarine cables that connect Pakistan.

"We regret to inform you that due to international submarine cable fault, internet services are impacted across Pakistan," said Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) in a post on Twitter.

"Our technical teams are working on fully restoring internet services. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience."

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, in a statement, said: "Due to a fault in the international submarine cable, internet services have been affected."

"Since today evening, some areas of Pakistan experienced a disruption in services," said the PTA spokesperson.

The telecom authority said that PTCL, along with international organisations, "are working to ascertain the location where the fault has developed".

According to ProPakistani, two submarine cables have gone offline, disrupting internet in Pakistan.

"IMEWE and SEAMEWE 4, that carry almost 50 per cent of Pakistan’s internet traffic, went offline due to a fault at a location that’s yet not determined," it said.

Internet users across the country will experience downgraded speeds until the fault is fixed, ProPakistani reported, adding that, internet service providers "are in the process of shifting the load to other submarine systems, that will balance the load to an extent".

An internet outage also occurred earlier this year, in June, when services were disrupted due to "multiple cable cuts".

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