Internet users across Pakistan experienced significant disruptions on Saturday due to cuts in major international submarine cables. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) issued a statement confirming that the outages originated from damage to the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems in waters near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These critical undersea infrastructures provide a substantial portion of Pakistan’s bandwidth and connectivity to global networks.
The damage has resulted in a partial loss of bandwidth capacity, leading to widespread connectivity issues for users. According to data from the outage tracking website Down Detector, reports of internet problems began building up overnight and surged to a peak by 9 am on Saturday morning.
In response to the crisis, PTCL has assured customers that restoration efforts are underway. The company’s international partners are working on a priority basis to repair the damaged submarine links. Simultaneously, local technical teams are mobilizing to secure and route alternative bandwidth sources to mitigate the impact and improve service stability for users.
PTCL expressed its appreciation for customer patience during the service interruption. This incident highlights the country’s reliance on a few key submarine cables for international connectivity. To bolster future resilience, PTCL is working on the Africa-1 submarine cable project, a new high-capacity link to diverse destinations expected to be ready for service by early 2026.
