More internet disruptions are predicted in the following days as optic fibre cables in Sindh were damaged by heavy gear used to drain water, according to a study by Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL). Previously, in response to persistent internet disruptions, the Ministry of IT and Telecom requested a technical assessment from PTCL as well as the telecom sector regulator, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). In response to the question, PTCL said that flood relief efforts in Sindh’s Sukkur division were the main cause of the problems.
The PTA assured us that the cuts in the optic fibre were not the result of sabotage or criminal activity, but rather of trenches dug up in various locations to channel and/or drain flood water. According to the national telecom report, the last disruptions happened on August 22 and 23, and they were caused by multiple cuts in the Sindh division’s Ghotki, Khairpur, and Sukkur districts. Ranipur tehsil (taluka) in the Khairpur district had the worst damage.
Syed Aminul Haque, Minister of Information and Telecommunications, warned that preliminary indications indicated a serious situation. “Due to significant floods,” the minister explained, “locals in the area dug out trenches that submerged most of the path on which the subterranean wires are buried.” The ministry has ordered PTCL to declare an emergency so that repairs can begin. He further stated that the authority has been entrusted with regularly reviewing service quality.
Pakistan has a total internet consumption of roughly six terabytes, which is mostly supplied by seven underwater internet cable systems, four of which are controlled by PTCL, two by Transworld Associates, and a new cable system that recently came online, owned by a Chinese business. However, PTCL’s network connections of over 50,000 kilometres power about 80% of the country’s internet traffic. While each PTCL cable can carry up to 6.5 terabytes of data, only 70% of the entire capacity is used, allowing traffic to be diverted to other cables in the event of damage or an emergency.
Aside from its own retail internet service, the national telecom buys bulk internet from a significant number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including Storm Fibre and Nayatel. As a result, any damage to the company’s cable system causes internet service outages for customers of other ISPs. According to a senior ministry official, while cable breakage and service degradation are recorded virtually daily, the situation becomes critical when the optical fibre is damaged. “Internet service in Punjab, KP, and some areas of Balochistan suffered since cables were broken in upper Sindh,” the official explained. However, there was no such difficulty for consumers in Karachi, Hyderabad, Gwadar, and other districts of the South.
