In a bid to address recent internet disruptions, the government launched the Africa Cable Project-2, a cutting-edge initiative designed to improve internet infrastructure and data transmission across the country, Express News reported on Thursday.
The Africa-2 cable project is the largest submarine network in the world, spanning 45,000 kilometers. Spanning 33 countries, it incorporates 46 landing stations around the world, marking a major milestone for international Internet infrastructure.
According to a recent report by global internet monitor Top10VPN.com, Pakistan suffered the world’s largest economic losses due to internet outages in 2024, with total losses reaching $1.62 billion. This figure exceeded losses in conflict-torn countries such as Sudan and Myanmar.
The report, released on January 2, revealed that Pakistan experienced a staggering 9,735 hours of internet outages, affecting 82.9 million users. The disruptions were mainly attributed to political events, including elections and protests.
In response to recent Internet slowdowns, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) put in place a temporary bandwidth to address disruptions caused by a fault in the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) submarine cable, which affected the country’s Internet performance.
The AAE-1 cable is one of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan to global networks.
Additionally, the government is in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink to introduce satellite internet services in Pakistan, as part of broader efforts to improve connectivity across the country. The challenges posed by internet disruptions continue to weigh heavily on Pakistan’s IT sector, particularly its freelancers.
