Internet issues

It may be a bit ironic to write about Pakistan’s internet issues on a day many large cities faced internet and mobile phone disruptions. But that is one of the many challenges the country’s ‘digital revolution’ faces. Keeping its tradition of performing low across multiple indicators, Pakistan has emerged as one of the countries with the slowest internet speed and ranks 118 out of 141 countries in terms of mobile speed. These statistics were revealed by the recent Bytes for All report titled ‘Pakistan’s Internet Landscape 2022’. The average download speed in the country – including both mobile speed and fixed broadband speed – ranges from 10.15 to 15.5 Mbps. To put things in perspective, the UAE which ranks first offers internet speed of 178.25 on mobile devices. Singapore ranks first in terms of fixed broadband speed and offers a speed of 235.40 Mbps; the UAE comes second with 221.87. Our lagging ways mean we will take years to make the most of features like e-health, online shopping, money transfers, etc. One reason for this abysmal performance is Pakistan’s outdated infrastructure and fibre network. Introducing next-generation technologies will unfortunately remain a dream unless the country takes timely steps to introduce a fibre optic infrastructure in the country. The already fragile network suffered severe blows during the 2022 floods that left one-third of the country under water. Such challenges push back the country’s efforts to launch 5G.

By not embracing next-gen digital technologies, Pakistan is missing a golden opportunity. Technological advancements across the world are going on at a fast pace. Internet connectivity has helped countries improve their GDP growth. The digital economy is worth $11.5 trillion globally and Pakistan can benefit from this lucrative sector if it plays its cards right. It desperately needs to focus on IT and work together with the relevant stakeholders to create a digital ecosystem. Besides talking about Pakistan’s performance and ranking, the report also highlights how the internet has provided criminals a chance to carry out cybercrimes with impunity. Online Ponzi schemes and cryptocurrency scams have led to the loss of millions of rupees, depriving ordinary people of their hard-earned money. People in our country are already wary of investing their savings. Such cases push more people away from circulating their money in productive activities.

Another disturbing fact highlighted by the report relates to the child pornography mafia that operates on different social media platforms. That around two million explicit photos of children were uploaded on social media shows how vulnerable the children are in this country. And it is rather disturing that authorities that always take action against people over a simple tweet have not taken any steps to arrest these gangs involved in child abuse. Harassment cases against women are also quite high with many complaining how people use social networking sites to send sexually explicit content to them. The country has still not reaped the benefits of a digital Pakistan, and yet it has a high prevalence of cybercrimes. We await our first step into a truly digital land.