Submarine Cable Fault Disrupts Internet Services in Pakistan

By Usman Hanif
October 29, 2019

KARACHI:�Internet users faced difficulties in accessing online content throughout the county after an international submarine cable developed a technical fault, apparently due to Cyclone Kyarr in Arabian Sea on Tuesday.

Source privy to the development told The Express Tribune that the underwater cable developed two faults, one near Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and another near the Pakistani sea-belt.

Due to international submarine cable fault, internet services have been impacted in Pakistan, said Fariha Shah, a spokesperson for The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). However, she declined to comment on nature of the fault, saying that her technical team has not yet informed her about the fault.

The PTCL also issued an alert on social media, saying their teams are working on fully restoring internet services.

“We regret to inform you that due to international submarine cable fault, internet services are impacted across Pakistan. Our technical teams are working on fully restoring internet services,” it said in a tweet.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.”

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) also assured internet users that the quality of browsing would soon be restored to its fullest as PTCL is working with international consortium to rectify the fault.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) online check-in systems also went down across the country due to the underwater cable fault.

“PTCL network is down due to damage to their underground cables causing outage of PIA Check-In systems across the country. We’re moving to backup systems and manual processes. We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers due to the resulting delays,” said the national flag carrier in a tweet.

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