SEA-ME-WE-5 fault: PTCL denies internet traffic disruption in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Internet services faced disruption after the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE-5) underwater cable connecting Singapore to Pakistan and Europe was cut, Geo News reported Saturday citing sources in the telecom sector.

However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) denied any disruption, stating that the submarine cable cut has not affected its traffic.

"PTCL's traffic is not affected due to submarine cable cut," the PTCL spokesperson told the TV channel.

According to the telecommunication company, internet traffic in Pakistan was normal and remained unaffected following the cut because the cable is not part of PTCL's network infrastructure.

The spokesperson added that PTCL's network is functioning optimally with "no service interruption".

The sources within the industry told Geo News that they have noted packet drops as well as slow browsing and streaming since Monday (April 22).

The issue, as per the sources, has been linked to the underwater cable which was cut near Indonesia.

They added that five cuts on the fiber-optic submarine cable were noted and it will take some time for it to repair.

"Internet service coming from the eastern direction affected due to cut of optic fiber cable. PTCL eastbound traffic is affected," the sources told Geo News.

They added that Pakistani users will face severe difficulties in browsing internet during evening hours.

"The traffic coming from the east direction is less than 10%," the sources maintained, adding that the internet traffic coming from the eastern direction has been shifted to alternate channels.