ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reported on Thursday it is actively managing intermittent internet disruptions stemming from a technical fault in the SEA-ME-WE 5 (SMW5) submarine cable system. The anomaly is causing service degradation and connectivity issues across critical infrastructure links.
The PTA stated that SMW5 consortium operator Transworld Associates (TWA) is conducting collaborative troubleshooting with technical teams to diagnose the root cause and establish restoration timelines.
Known as the sole private-sector owner of submarine fiber-optic infrastructure globally, TWA is prioritizing resolution efforts to expedite service recovery.
Interim mitigation measures include rerouting internet traffic through alternative international pathways to maintain connectivity continuity. The PTA emphasized this strategy aims to minimize operational impacts while addressing the fault.
TWA customers received an SMS notification apologizing for the disruption, attributing it to a “technical fault” in one of the submarine cable systems. Service teams confirmed active remediation efforts with updates pending completion.
PTA reiterated its collaboration with stakeholders across public and private sectors to resolve the incident expeditiously. The authority maintained situational awareness remains at maximum operational readiness.
Operational enhancements continue through the deployment of SEA-ME-WE 6, a next-generation submarine cable that arrived in Pakistan in November. With a 100-terabit-per-second capacity and 13.2-tbps national allocation, the system offers significantly improved performance metrics.
Ministry representatives highlighted SEA-ME-WE 6’s architectural advantages, including double capacity per fiber pair compared to predecessor systems. Its expanded infrastructure spans Egypt’s strategic geo-locations to optimize transcontinental latency reduction and ensure redundancy in Asia-Europe data flows.
