Undersea Internet Cable Project Connecting Pakistan Underway in Karachi

Karachi:Work is underway on connecting Pakistan to an undersea internet cable, with the goal of enhancing the country’s internet infrastructure. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the cable is expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2025. The first phase of the project has already seen the installation of the cable at the **PLSE Karachi Hawks Bay** landing station.

In the second phase, which is scheduled to begin in **April 2025**, the process of laying the cable in deeper waters will commence. Once completed, this cable will provide Pakistan with a bandwidth capacity of **24 terabits per second (Tbps)**, linking the country to **Africa**.

Currently, Pakistan relies on **seven undersea cables** that provide approximately **8 terabits of bandwidth**, but the new cable is expected to meet the growing demands of **5G technology** for the coming years.

**Sajjad Mustafa**, President of the **Pakistan Software Houses Association**, expressed optimism that the new cable will help resolve internet speed issues and lead to significant improvements in internet performance.

Earlier, **Minister of State for Information Technology**, **Shazia Fatima**, had acknowledged that Pakistan’s internet speed is not up to international standards. The issue of internet speed had also led to criticism from government allies, particularly the **Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)**. During a **National Assembly session**, **Shazia Marri** from PPP humorously commented on the situation, saying it was ironic that a **Digital Nation Bill** was being introduced while the country’s internet speed remained slow, adding that “the firewall sound was getting unbearable.”

This project is expected to significantly improve Pakistan’s internet capacity and provide faster, more reliable service to meet future technological demands.