Pakistan’s internet disruption could continue till early October due to ‘submarine cable fault’

The ongoing internet slowdown across Pakistan is expected to prolong with repairs to the damaged SMW-4 submarine cable likely to be completed by early October 2024, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) stated on Wednesday.

“The ongoing internet slowdown across the country is mainly due to fault in two (SMW4, AAE-1) of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally,” the PTA said in a statement.

“It is updated that fault in SMW-4 submarine cable is likely to be repaired by early October 2024.”

The authority further stated that the submarine cable AAE-1 has been repaired, “which may improve internet experience”.

Pakistan remains engulfed in massive disruption in internet services, while X (formerly Twitter) remains blocked in the country for almost six months.

Since July, internet networks had been up to 40% slower than normal, according to one IT association, while documents, images and voice notes were also disrupted on WhatsApp, used by tens of millions of people.

Last week, PTA attributed the internet disruption in Pakistan to a “faulty submarine cable” brushing off reports regarding installation of firewalls.

“The internet slowdown in the country is due to a faulty submarine cable, which is expected to be repaired by August 28,” PTA Chairman Major General Hafeezur Rehman (retd) told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT.

He said that no firewalls were being installed, adding that it was the government’s web management system which was being upgraded.

Questions were also raised about whether other countries are facing similar submarine cable issues. The PTA chairman said, “It’s Pakistan’s submarine cable that’s affected, not others.”

Concerns over the legal standing of VPN usage were also brought up, to which chairman PTA said that they are registering VPNs and not blocking it.

He further went on to elaborate on the complexities of monitoring online content, stating, “While Article 19 guarantees freedom of expression, there are five or six categories to consider when enforcing restrictions. Each country has its system in place, and when the government issues directives to block certain content, we have to comply.”

Digital rights experts had speculated that government is testing a firewall – a security system that monitors network traffic but can also be used to control online spaces.