Fault in submarine cable impacts internet services in Pakistan

KARACHI: Internet speeds across Pakistan plummeted Thursday after a technical fault hit the main underwater fibre-optic cable system in the Arabian Sea connecting the country to the internet.

“The International submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 4 has experienced a fault in the Arabian Sea, impacting internet services in the region including Pakistan,” PTCL said in a statement today.

The fault impacted browsing speeds for users across most major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country, while causing problems for other countries in the region as well.

“Restoration work has been initiated by the international consortium that manages the submarine cable systems,” said the PTCL statement.

The South East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) Cable System is an ultra-high-capacity fiber optic submarine cable system linking South East Asia to Western Europe via the Middle East.

SEA-ME-WE 4 is one of four submarine cables that connect Pakistan and its main link to the internet.

The cable network, measuring approximately 20,000 kilometers and linking 16 landing stations, is owned by a consortium of 16 leading telecom carriers in 14 countries.

PTCL said that, despite the fault, it was continuing to provide connectivity during restoration work on undersea international submarine cable.

PTCL “has already undertaken necessary measures to provide internet connectivity to its customers across Pakistan. However, due to fault in the undersea cable, the internet users may experience slow browsing during this period,” it said.