Pakistan Internet Slowdown Expected
Pakistan Internet Slowdown Expected Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has announced that, due to emergency repairs on the AAE-1 international submarine cable, internet users in Pakistan may experience slower internet speeds during peak hours until November 2, 2026.
According to PTCL, the repair work commenced on October 27 on the section of the cable located between Italy and France. The company stated that while the work is underway, users in Pakistan might notice a slight decline in service quality during peak hours. PTCL has thanked its customers for their patience and cooperation during this repair process.
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AAE-1 Why Matter In Pakistani Internet
The Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) cable is one of the routes through which Pakistan’s international internet traffic passes. Spanning approximately 25,000 kilometers, this system connects Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt. It reaches Pakistan at Karachi. PTCL began providing services in Pakistan via this cable in 2017. The cable links Pakistan to Europe through landing points located in Greece, Italy, and France.
Since the maintenance of this cable is being handled in Europe, access to services routed through that region is currently affected. Consequently, users may experience internet outages or slower speeds, particularly during peak evening hours. This situation is expected to persist until November 2nd. After November 2nd, it is anticipated that internet speeds will return to their previous levels.
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Previous Disruptions
This is not the first time that issues related to AAE-1 have affected the internet in Pakistan. Previously, in January 2025, a fault in a cable near Qatar caused internet speeds across the country to remain slow for nearly two weeks.
Subsequently, PTCL announced that the fault had been resolved and that internet speeds had largely returned to normal. However, PTCL did not specify whether it would incorporate additional backup bandwidth during the current maintenance process; no information regarding this has been provided thus far.
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