Fault in internet submarine cable, alternate measures taken for uninterrupted service: PTA

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday said a fault has been reported in an international submarine internet cable but  alternate measures to provide uninterrupted service to users have been taken.

According to the PTA, a fault has been reported in the international submarine cable, SMW4, operated by PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd), in the Indian Ocean, due to which some internet users may experience downgraded speeds during peak hours.

“Work is underway to fully restore internet services at the earliest. PTA is monitoring the situation and will continue to update on it,”

A fault that affected the internet speeds in the country was last reported in December after which the PTCL started to shift internet traffic to other cables.

PTCL issued a statement saying that arrangements had been made for "alternate bandwidth".

"In the next few days, additional bandwidth will be added," the statement said.

In this period, internet speeds will be "slightly affected", the statement warned users.

South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France.