IT secretary, Dr. Zarar Hashim, said on Thursday that the recent disruption of Pakistan Internet services due to damaged underwater cables could take four to five weeks to be fully resolved.
The submarine cable cuts earlier this month in the Red Sea disrupted Internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, although the exact cause of the incident remains unclear. Little affected cables have a direct impact on connectivity to Pakistan, slowing Internet services.
Answering questions about internet and slow speed disruptions, Dr. Hashim explained that cable repair requires specialized ships.
“Three additional cables are expected in the 12 to 18 months, which will improve Pakistan’s connectivity with Europe. The agreements to bring these cables to Pakistan have already been signed,” he added.
The briefing was part of a meeting of the permanent committee and telecommunications held in Islamabad It Park. Sadiq Memon, a member of the committee, expressed his concerns about the slowness of the Internet and the disturbances. “If three new cables are coming, why are there any internet problems?” Memon questioned.
To this secretary, he replied that several submarine cables – four to five in total – were damaged off the coast of Yemen, considerably disturbing regional internet connectivity.
He added that the situation has worsened due to the current conflict in Yemen, which hampered reparation efforts in a timely manner. “It is not only one or two cables; several have been affected,” he noted.
Submarine cables are one of the dorsal spine of the Internet, as well as satellite connections and land cables. As a rule, internet service providers have several access points and reach traffic in case of failure, although it can slow down access to users.
