Internet slowdown on Wednesday hit consumers across Pakistan, as submarine cable SMW4 developed a fault in Alexandria, Egypt, telecom sector sources said. "The undersea fibre-optic cable has developed faults," they said, adding that the breakdown has slowed down internet traffic also in Pakistan.
"The damage in cable has affected internet services in many regions such as Far East, Middle East, North Africa, South Asia etc," they said, adding that repairing the cable is, however, underway to restore the flow.
Press release adds: One of the international submarine cables (SMW4) has experienced fault in sea waters near Alexandria, Egypt. This has impacted internet services in the entire regions of the Far East, Middle East, Pakistan, India and North Africa. The international consortium of operators in the region that manages the submarine cable system is proceeding to deploy repair services to restore services at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), in a press release said that PTCL has already undertaken necessary actions to minimise the impact on the services to customers in Pakistan, by making alternate arrangement for internet capacity. This has been made possible because of PTCL multiple submarine cable systems facility in Pakistan. Customers may experience slow browsing during peak hours and PTCL regrets this temporary inconvenience caused to valued customers, under the prevalent circumstances.
