Pakistan ranked among lowest in global internet speed rankings

ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing internet crisis, Pakistan was ranked among the lowest globally for internet speeds in October, according to data from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index.

The list of countries showed Pakistan at 100 out of 111 countries in mobile internet speeds with a download speed of 20.61Mbps and upload speed of 8.53Mbps. Meanwhile, the index ranked the country at 141 out of 158 countries in broadband speeds with a download speed of 15.60Mbps and upload speed of 15.53Mbps.

Users across various cities in Pakistan continue to face sporadic internet disruption and slow speed, resulting in difficulties with browsing, as well as downloading and sharing media. Reports indicate that both WiFi and mobile data services were experiencing severe slowdowns, making it nearly impossible for users to send or receive media files, such as images, videos, and voice notes on popular platforms like WhatsApp.

According to a report on digital landscape and human rights, Pakistan was ranked as having the lowest internet speeds globally as of May 2023. Recently, the incumbent government in Islamabad has officially confirmed that it was upgrading its “web management system” as it carried out multiple tests of its internet firewall, with the first and second trials conducted in July and August, respectively.

On both occasions, the trials slowed down internet speeds and disrupted digital platforms. However, no specific reason has come to light for recent internet disruptions featuring slow internet speed.

Internet disruptions are not unusual in Pakistan, as the country has been facing sporadic outages and access hindrances for months now for various reasons. IT experts are of the view that due to the extremely poor state of the internet in Pakistan, the country’s economy is losing billions of rupees daily.