ISLAMABAD: After blaming increase in use of the virtual private networks (VPNs), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has attributed internet slowdowns throughout Pakistan to telecom infrastructure, The News reported.
A PTA report claims that insufficient fiberisation, power cuts, and telecom infrastructure are to blame for the slow internet speed.
The 18-year-old web management system, according to the PTA, is just concerned with managing gray traffic and has no role in reducing internet speeds.
The report said that 42% of telecom sites across Pakistan are working without generators due to which more than 21,000 sites suffer from power outages and internet and telecom services are affected during power loadshedding.
Over 24,885 sites have generators installed but insufficient power backup, the PTA report said, adding that generators and other critical equipment were stolen at more than 739 telecom sites in recent years. The PTA claimed that 147 sites were attacked by terrorists in the last five years, damaging telecom infrastructure and eventually the internet.
The government has long been attributing slow internet to various reasons, while many experts believe that "firewall" could be one of the reasons for its slow speed.
During a Senate session on Wednesday, Minister of State for Information Technology and Communications Shaza Fatima highlighted Pakistan's efforts to improve internet services.
She said that two new undersea cables are being acquired for the country's internet infrastructure, which will significantly enhance the internet performance.
She said that Pakistan currently relies on eight submarine cables, one of which is non-operational.
The minister also said that Pakistan is acquiring 500 MHz of spectrum to address these challenges. Legal cases related to spectrum allocation have been resolved, which will lead to improved internet speeds as more spectrum becomes available.