Internet users reported slow speeds on Tuesday, particularly in parts of upper Punjab and Islamabad.
An international cable consortium has completed repairs to a faulty repeater on one of its undersea cables, restoring internet connectivity across Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited announced on Wednesday.
Internet users had reported slow speeds on Tuesday, particularly in parts of upper Punjab and Islamabad, where connectivity issues were further aggravated by the prevailing law and order situation.
On Monday, PTCL had warned that internet users across Pakistan could experience slower speeds and intermittent connectivity while maintenance work was carried out on one of the country’s main undersea cables.
A scheduled repair operation began around 11 am Pakistan Standard Time on Tuesday to repair the faulty repeater in the submarine cable system, the statement said.
The activity was expected to last up to 18 hours, during which customers could face service degradation or delays in international connectivity. “We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate our customers’ patience during this essential maintenance period,” a spokesperson for the telecom operator said.
PTCL, the state-owned telecom operator, operates three of Pakistan’s six submarine fiber optic cable systems that provide international Internet connectivity. The remaining systems include two operated by Trans World Associates (Pvt.) Ltd and one by Cyber Internet Services under the PEACE cable network.
Together, these six submarine cable systems offer a total capacity of around 13 terabits per second (Tbps), while Pakistan’s current national usage ranges between 7 and 8 Tbps, according to PTCL.