PTA says additional bandwidth being added to resolve internet issue in Pakistan

• PTA says additional bandwidth obtained by internet service providers after fault emerged in international cables
• TWA had communicated there was a service degradation on international connectivity towards Europe
• The degradation is on the SMW5 cable system due to a subsea fault near Egypt

ISLAMABAD:  The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced on Friday that internet service providers are adding additional bandwidth as an alternative arrangement for internet issues being faced by users across the country.

Internet connectivity was disrupted due to a fault in an international submarine cable.

The telecom authority said Trans World Associates (TWA) had communicated to them that there was a service degradation on the international connectivity towards Europe on the SMW5 cable system due to a subsea fault near Abu Talat, Egypt.

“Work is underway to rectify the fault however it may take some time until the fault is removed completely,” said the PTA in a tweet. It assured internet users that it was monitoring the situation and will continue to update internet users in Pakistan.

A day earlier, PTA had informed users about problems that Pakistanis may face in internet connectivity due to the fault.

The telecom regulator did not mention a timeline regarding the restoration of services.

However, a senior executive of the TWA told Dawn that “while the work to remove the fault is continuing, the internet service providers (ISPs) are being shifted to the spare capacity maintained by the company”.

According to the report, the TWA network caters for around 40% of internet traffic in Pakistan.