Internet woes

Pakistan has long grappled with adversarial relationships – both within its borders and with its immediate neighbours. Now, it seems even the deep sea conspires against the country, as submarine internet cables repeatedly fall victim to mysterious disruptions. On Thursday, millions of internet users faced yet another outage when a cable near Qatar sustained damage. While the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) claims to have patched the issue with temporary bandwidth, the underlying problem remains: a digital infrastructure so fragile that it risks jeopardising the country’s economic future. The timing of this disruption couldn’t be worse. On the same day, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology once again postponed the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, a cornerstone for modernising the country’s digital framework. The committee raised concerns over the persistent internet outages in the country, saying that while the PTA assured that internet-related issues would be resolved by October 2024, there has not been any noticeable progress in that regard. The economic ramifications of an unreliable internet are staggering. According to the Pakistan Association of Software Houses (P@SHA), frequent outages cost the country a whopping $300 million annually. These losses are not just numbers; they signify eroded trust in Pakistan’s ability to function as a credible tech destination. Chronic connectivity problems will inevitably drive international clients to more reliable markets, dealing a devastating blow to an industry that could otherwise offer salvation to a beleaguered economy.

Pakistan’s broader digital landscape paints an equally grim picture. A recent Ookla Speedtest report ranked the country 100th out of 111 nations for mobile internet speeds and 141st out of 158 for broadband. Despite consuming 25,141 petabytes of data annually, only 32.9 per cent of the population has internet access. These numbers reveal a yawning chasm between digital aspirations and ground realities. The government’s inertia is a key part of the problem. Internet disruptions are not limited to undersea cables; they’re compounded by deliberate shutdowns and social media bans. In 2024 alone, Pakistan lost $1.62 billion to such measures, topping global charts for financial losses due to deliberate outages. The ongoing ban on the social media platform X since February 2024, as well as shutdowns in protest-hit regions, showcase the government’s alarming tendency to prioritise censorship over connectivity. Even as the PTA touts the forthcoming 2Africa Submarine Cable System as a panacea, expected to go live by late 2025, these efforts come too late for a country haemorrhaging billions in lost productivity. For freelancers – over two million of whom contribute significantly to the economy – and software houses, reliable internet is not a luxury but an existential necessity. Yet, these stakeholders’ pleas seem to fall on deaf ears.

Pakistan’s digital crisis demands urgent, multi-faceted solutions. The government must prioritise upgrading internet infrastructure. Temporary fixes, like the ad-hoc bandwidth used to address recent disruptions, are insufficient. Political differences must also be set aside to enact comprehensive digital legislation. And authorities must abandon the self-defeating practice of internet shutdowns. The financial and reputational costs of these measures far outweigh their supposed benefits. In a world increasingly driven by connectivity, Pakistan cannot afford to remain in the digital dark ages. The government’s failure to act decisively risks squandering the promise of a vibrant digital economy. The clock is ticking.