Islamabad (TDI): Speculation about a possible internet slowdown or nationwide outage circulated widely on social media on Wednesday, prompting concern among users across Pakistan. However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has dismissed these claims, saying there is no truth to reports of service disruption.
In a statement posted on X, the PTA said information suggesting an internet outage on January 15 was “incorrect and without factual basis”.
The authority reassured users that internet services across the country remain stable and fully functional. It acknowledged that routine maintenance work is currently being carried out on a submarine cable, but stressed that this activity will not impact connectivity.
Internet slowdowns and access issues have become a recurring problem in Pakistan in recent years, often linked to factors such as undersea cable repairs, limited spectrum availability and security-related measures.
Last month, the Economic Coordination Committee approved the auction of 600 megahertz of spectrum, a move expected to significantly improve internet speeds and facilitate the future rollout of 5G services in the country.
According to the Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Pakistan ranked 97th worldwide for mobile internet speed in November, with an average download rate of 24.79 Mbps. Fixed broadband performance was even weaker, with Pakistan placed 146th globally and average download speeds recorded at just 18.27 Mbps.
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In a positive development, Pakistan expanded its international internet capacity in November 2025 with the launch of the South-East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe (SEA-ME-WE) 6 submarine cable.
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The 19,200-kilometre high-capacity fibre-optic system links Pakistan to major digital hubs stretching from Singapore to France. Offering more than 100 terabits per second of total capacity, the network provides one of the fastest and lowest-latency routes connecting Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe.
Under the project, Pakistan has been allocated 13.2 Tbps of bandwidth, with 4 Tbps already activated. Officials say the added capacity will support growth in cloud services, data centres, fintech, e-commerce, streaming platforms and the country’s wider digital economy.
