Internet Service Disruptions in Pakistan Lead to Millions of Dollars in Losses

Islamabad:Recent slowdowns and outages in internet services across Pakistan have resulted in significant financial losses for the country, with foreign companies beginning to relocate their operations abroad. This could further exacerbate the difficulties faced by internet users.

According to official documents, in the wake of the recent internet disruptions, WhatsApp has moved its session routing server overseas.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has acknowledged that the relocation of WhatsApp’s Content Delivery Network (CDN) outside the country has caused connectivity issues for many users. Despite this, the PTA claims that there has been an improvement in internet services for both fixed-line and mobile networks in Pakistan.

As per PTA’s report, fixed-line internet services saw a two-tier improvement last month, though Pakistan currently ranks 139th globally in fixed-line internet speed. On the other hand, mobile network services showed a three-tier improvement, and Pakistan is now ranked 97th globally in mobile internet speed. However, despite these improvements, the ongoing slow internet speeds remain a concern for both businesses and general users.

2024 has been one of the worst years for internet speed in Pakistan, with four major incidents involving submarine cable faults. This caused a reduction of 1750 gigabits per second in internet connectivity. Additionally, issues with firewalls and web management systems have exacerbated the problems for internet users.

Internet service providers (ISPs) have stated that an hour of downtime results in a loss of $900,000, and a full day of service disruptions can lead to a loss of $1.25 million. In 2021, Pakistan’s export growth was 47%, but it has since dropped to just 24% last year.

ISPs are warning that if the current situation persists, more companies may relocate their operations abroad, further impacting Pakistan’s economy and internet services.