ISLAMABAD: After receiving immense flak from netizens and information technology sector bodies over intermittent internet disruptions, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has finally commented on the issue linking it with a “fault in the undersea submarine cable”.
“Submarine Consortium has informed [us] that the internet [services] are affected due to a fault in the submarine cable which will be resolved by August 27,” PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez-Ur-Rehman said while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT.
The PTA chief’s remarks come in the wake of the prevailing internet slowdown and limited connectivity that experts and stakeholders have attributed to the purported testing of an internet firewall to rein in social media, which is equipped with filters to block unwanted content from reaching a wider audience.
Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP), Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and IT experts have slammed the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government over the issue, citing the economic impact on freelancers, IT professionals and the digital economy in general.
With P@SHA estimating a loss of $300 million loss in light of existing complaints by the businesses and the reputational damage, WISPAP Chairman Shahzad Arshad has said that businesses and individuals who depend on reliable internet connectivity which is an essential pillar of the country’s digital economy were now “struggling to maintain operations, and the slowdown is threatening their very survival”.
However, the government has denied its involvement in the issue with State Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja blaming the use of virtual private networks (VPN) by internet users as the reason “their phones” slowed down.
“I can swear that the government of Pakistan did not block the internet or slow it down,” she said while speaking to the media last week.
More to follow…