Telecom operators in Pakistan have reported disruptions in social media services and web browsing during periods of internet slowdowns, according to feedback submitted to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). This follows the PTA’s investigation into growing concerns about the declining quality of internet services across the country.
Operators’ Insights on Disruptions
In response to the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, telecom operators provided detailed accounts of the issues impacting their networks.
Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) highlighted various disruptions in social media platforms:
- Jazz and Telenor reported blocking issues with platform X (formerly Twitter), but no other abnormalities in web browsing or data services.
- Zong observed a decline in data traffic across all leading applications, including a significant 16% drop in TikTok traffic.
- Ufone noted intermittent degradation in the performance of popular over-the-top (OTT) platforms, although no problems were found with web browsing.
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Fixed-line operators also reported similar disruptions:
- PTCL identified intermittent issues with social media services, including TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, but web browsing remained unaffected.
- Cybernet reported interruptions in both social media usage and web browsing.
- Nayatel maintained that its services were unaffected, with no disruptions reported in either category.
- TWA acknowledged interruptions in video streaming and calls, along with slow browsing speeds, and admitted that expanding its bandwidth capacity was essential to meet growing demand.
Root Causes of Disruptions
The PTA highlighted that these disruptions, along with the increasing use of VPNs bypassing content delivery networks (CDNs), have put additional strain on Pakistan’s existing submarine cable capacity of 9.5 Gbps.
According to the PTA, the disruptions are part of routine trends in data throughput and usage patterns, rather than anomalies. The authority has communicated its findings to the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, emphasizing the need for systemic improvements to address the ongoing issues and ensure reliable internet services nationwide.
