Internet disruptions to be fixed by month-end, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The government was hopeful to fix the ongoing disruption in internet services SEA-Me-WE near Karachi (undersea) by the end of September.

This disclosure was made in the written reply given by the Ministry of IT in the National Assembly. The ministry submitted a written response regarding the internet outages since February 2021 and stated that most of the disruptions occur due to the submarine cable fault.

The House was informed that the error in route configuration of PTCL system on 31st of July, 2024, was resolved within few hours.

On June 17, 2024, SEA-ME-WE 4 suffered an offshore erosion near Karachi (undersea), and the erosion caused a loss of 1500 Gbps and ongoing disruption of Internet services would be fixed by the end of September, the ministry said.

Errors of February 2024, April 2023, November 2022, February 2022, February 2021 were resolved in a few hours while February 2022 Tw-1 400 Km off Karachi was resolved in three months.

The written reply stated that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued an SOP on reporting major breakdowns in telecom network and as per PTA SOP, submarine cable fault is to be reported to the PTA within two hour.

If the effect of cable fault is significant, then a press release is published by the PTA to make public aware of the situation.

Thereafter, the PTA monitors the traffic mitigation and repair activity. In case of terrestrial cut, the cable is restored within hours.

However, in case of undersea cut, a special repair ship is required to be engaged and its crew has to be security cleared by the LEAs.

Through PTA efforts, standing security clearance has been obtained for two ships, saving months of security clearance time while still repair ships have a tight schedule and take time to arrive for repair activity.

The PTA has updated Quality of Service Regulations in 2022 to keep pace with fast changing technology, increasing the threshold of system availability and download upload speeds.

It was stated that 7 x ISPs have been issued notices in July 24 for not meeting PTA KPI threshold during the survey conducted by the authority. After a special ISP survey in Gwadar, a show cause notice was issued to the PTCL in Feb for failing to meet PTA KPI Threshold.

All ISPs across the country have been given notice in July 2024 to upgrade the systems to meet PTA KPI threshold as given in Fixed Line QoS Regulations 2022.

Ina written reply to the another question, the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Justice informed that the post of MD of Pakistan Baitul Mal has been vacant for the last five months.

Through a written reply in the National assembly, the ministry admitted that due to vacant post of MD Baitul Mal, the financial assistance to the beneficiaries could not be made from March 2024.

It was stated that the Pakistan Baitul Mal is providing assistance to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

It is pertinent to specify that Baitul Mal Board approved Rs30,000/- per annum for families with one disabled person and Rs60,000/- per annum for families with two or more disabled persons.

However, due to budget constraints then management decided to grant Rs20,000/- and Rs30,000/- for family of one special person and a family having two or more persons with disabilities.