Information and Technology (IT) Secretary Zarrar Hasham said on Thursday that restoring damaged undersea internet cables may take four to five weeks.
During a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication today while responding to a query raised by member Sadiq Memon over the slow internet and disruptions, the IT secretary replied that multiple cables had been cut off the coast of Yemen, affecting internet services.
“Not only one or two cables have been cut, but between four and five,” Hasham told the meeting at Islamabad’s IT Park. “The issue is serious considering the situation in Yemen. Two cables coming to Pakistan have been affected.”
The secretary added that bandwidth had been shifted to alternative networks.
“Repairing the cables may take four to five weeks,” he said, adding that special boats would be required to perform the repairs.
Memon remarked that it It is being said that three new cables are coming.”
“If three new cables are coming, then why are there still internet issues?” he added.
The IT secretary replied in the affirmative.
“Three more cables are coming in the next 12 to 18 months, which will provide connectivity to Pakistan from Europe,” Hasham stated.
“Agreements have been made to bring these three cables to Pakistan.”
This is not the first time that damage to undersea internet cables has affected services in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) announced that cuts to submarine internet cables in Saudi waters may impact internet services in the country during peak hours, adding that the damage impacted the partial bandwidth capacity SMW4 (South Asia-Middle East-West Asia) and IMEWE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) networks.
Internet users across Pakistan complained of slow internet and hindered access to services throughout 2024. On January 3 this year, PTCL said teams were “diligently” working to resolve the matter of disruptions faced by users after a fault in the AAE-1 subsea internet cable connecting Pakistan slowed down the network speed in the country.
On January 16, PTCL announced that internet services were “now fully operational” after the complete restoration of the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) undersea internet cable.