Pakistan's government gives Sept 24 as new date for internet fix

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal government has given a new date for internet disruptions and slow speeds to be resolved in Pakistan.

The government initially stated that the internet would be fixed in October, but it has now announced September 24, 2024 as the new date. The announcement was made in a written reply by the ministry of Information Technology (IT) to the National Assembly.

In total, the submarine internet cable connecting Pakistan has experienced nine major failures between 2021 to 2024.

Pakistan's leading software association and civil society organisations have said the internet disruptions and slowdowns are due to the Pakistani government's efforts to install a firewall, amid concerns for silencing dissent and the impact on the digital economy. Internet speeds dropped by 30-40% in August 2024, costing IT companies hundreds of millions of dollars.

Nukta Islamabad correspondent Javed Husain

Is it a firewall or a technical fault?

Many interpret the changing dates and flip-flopping reasons as deliberate opacity.

In a statement, international human rights organisation Amnesty International raised concerns about the lack of transparency. “The opacity of the Pakistani authorities regarding the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies that block content, slow down and control internet speeds is an alarming concern. Time and again, the use of such technologies, including national firewalls, has proven to be incompatible with human rights."

Speaking to Nukta, technology journalist Ramsha Jahangir said that while there are no clear answers, there is precedent to believe a firewall could be one of the reasons for the disruptions. "The internet infrastructure is already weak, using additional systems for internet filtering can slow everything down."

Timeline of official statements on internet disruptions
August 18, 2024: The Minister of State for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima said in a press conference that the internet was not being throttled officially. "Using VPNs on your phones slows down the internet," she said. She also said four new fiber cables are being installed, while efforts are being made for the launch of satellite internet.

August 21, 2024: Chairman PTA Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rahman said internet connectivity has been affected by a fault in one of seven submarine cables linking Pakistani to the internet. Speaking for the first time to a meeting of the National Assembly's standing committee on information technology, he said the cable will be fixed by August 27. He also said the slowdown domestically is due to VPNs, or virtual private networks.

August 26, 2024: Minister of state for IT tells the National Assembly that the PTA has "deployed a Web Monitoring System (WMS) for internet content management", through which applications and websites are blocked.

August 28, 2024: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement that a fault in two submarine cables - SMW-4 and AAE-1 - is the main reason for the ongoing slowness of the internet across the country. The PTA said the SMW4 submarine cable is likely to be fixed by early October 2024. Meanwhile, AAE-1 had been repaired, according the statement. The chairman says the WMS is being upgraded.

In its response, the IT Ministry says that on July 31, 2024, an error in the route configuration of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited's (PTCL) system was resolved in a few hours. The PTCL is a listed company which provides the backbone of Pakistan's telecommunication's infrastructure.

However, according to Pakistani's minister of state for IT, it is the undersea erosion of the submarine cable SMW-4 that is impacting continuous internet connectivity. The minister says the cable will be repaired by September 24.

The South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SMW-4) is an optical fibre submarine communications system connecting South East Asia to Europe via the Indian Sub-Continent and Middle East. The SMW-4 has terminal stations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, among other countries.

Sixteen international telecommunications companies signed construction and maintenance systems in 2004. Among these are Pakistan's PTCL, India's Bharti Infotel Limited and, Tata Communications.

The SMW-4 is one of seven international fibre optic cables that connect Pakistan to the internet.

Protocols for fixing the internet

The PTA has issued standard operating procedures to report major breakdowns in telecom networks. A submarine cable fault will be reported to the PTA within two hours. If the effect of the cable fault is significant, then PTA will inform the public aware through a press release.

While terrestrial cuts take a few hours to be repaired, in case of an undersea cut, a special repair ship is required to be engaged, and its crew has to be cleared for security by law enforcement agencies. Security clearance has been obtained for two ships, but the PTA says it takes time for these ships to arrive.