These days, the internet is down in Pakistan. The internet has become so slow in the neighboring country that many foreign companies are preparing to leave the country. Pakistani users are blaming a controversial step of their own government for this. At the same time, the Pakistani government has blamed India. It says that people associated with the Indian government are behind this. However, Pakistani people believe that the firewall system is behind the slow internet in Pakistan. The Pakistani government itself is installing this firewall system.
Over the past few weeks, users have complained of trouble sending and downloading media files and voice notes through messaging apps such as WhatsApp. They say that the internet connection is slow even if they are using a broadband network. Slow and erratic internet services may lead to a massive exodus of foreign businessmen from the country.
The Pakistan Software House Association, the country’s IT giant, has warned that internet-related problems could cost the fragile economy up to $300 million. The association also expressed concern that the government is hastily implementing a national firewall, which could potentially slow down net speeds. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has denied these claims.
PTA blames faulty submarine cable
On Wednesday, the country’s telecommunication authority blamed a damaged submarine cable for the slow internet speed. In a meeting with the National Assembly’s standing committee on IT, PTA chairman retired Major General Hafizur Rehman said the slow internet speed was mainly due to damage to one of the submarine cables (SMW 4), reports Dawn.com. Rehman assured the committee that the cable is expected to be repaired by August 28, after which normal internet speed will be restored.
On allegations of installing a firewall, Rehman said the government was only upgrading its web management system to strengthen cyber security and not disrupting the internet. PPP Senator Sharmila Farooqi told the PTA chief, “You have been asked a direct question. Has a firewall been installed or not?” To this Rehman did not give a direct answer. He said the PTA had no role in the slow internet speed. He blamed technical problems for it. He said, “Every country, including Afghanistan, has its own system.”
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a more detailed and clause-wise explanation from the central government regarding the ongoing slow internet speeds in Pakistan, after the PTA submitted a report. The report cited four primary reasons for the significant drop in internet speeds across the country. However, the court found the explanation unsatisfactory and sought more details in the next hearing.
Apart from the damage to a submarine cable in Pakistan, the report cites a major misconfiguration by a major internet service provider (ISP) on July 31. According to the report, this error caused a 70% drop in internet services across the country, forcing the PTA to take strict action against the ISP.
The PTA said the increased use of virtual private networks (VPNs) has slowed down speeds. VPNs, due to their encryption, tunneling and data routing, naturally cause slow internet speeds, the report said. The telecom authority reported a severe drop in internet traffic of about 1.5 Tbps on August 15. It claimed in its report that people associated with the Indian government were behind this. It said that these people have been engaged in “reducing internet services or defacing government websites” on national days for the past few years. At present, India has not yet responded to the baseless claims.