By SubTel Forum
Son of a top government functionary is reportedly backing the powerful telecommunication cartel that has the ownership of existing undersea fibre optic cables in Pakistan, TheNation is reporting.  The aforesaid individual has reportedly joined hands with telecommunication giants to help them maintain their monopoly in order to block the way of other telecommunication companies from getting the optical fibre cables (OFCs) deployed undersea within the sea jurisdiction of Pakistan. Presently, there are three undersea OFCs installed through submarines in Pakistan. The entire internet data trafficking to and from the country is carried out through these three cables, which belong to semi-private and private sectors. Of these OFCs, the two are part of the global inter-continental fibre optic network known as SEA-ME-WE (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe), and these cables are called SEA-ME-WE III and SEA-ME-IV undersea cables respectively. The Government had issued a separate licence for the installation of each undersea OFC.
