Internet Disruption Sweeps Pakistan as Underwater Fiber Optic Cable Suffers Cuts

 

Major Disruption: Damaged Undersea Cable Cuts Off Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Europe from Eastbound Internet Traffic

Global Impact: A critical undersea fiber optic cable connecting Singapore to Pakistan and Europe has suffered multiple breaks near Indonesia, causing significant internet disruptions across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Five Cuts, Five Problems: The damage, consisting of five separate cuts to the cable, is severely impacting eastbound internet traffic. Users in the affected regions are experiencing slower speeds, connection issues, and difficulties accessing websites and services hosted in the eastern hemisphere.

Repair Efforts Underway, But Patience Needed: Repair crews are working diligently to restore the cable, but a full recovery is expected to take approximately one month. This extended downtime poses a challenge for internet service providers (ISPs) in the affected regions.

PTCL Struggles to Mitigate Impact: In Pakistan, PTCL, a major ISP, is working to reroute internet traffic through alternative pathways. However, these efforts seem to be insufficient, particularly during peak usage hours in the evening, when Pakistani users continue to experience noticeable internet slowdowns.

A stark Reminder of Interconnectivity: This incident highlights the critical role of undersea cables in our globalized world. A single point of failure can have a domino effect, disrupting internet access for millions across vast geographical regions.

Eyes on Repair Timeline: As repair efforts progress, users in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe can expect continued internet instability for eastbound traffic until the cable is fully operational.