Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) announced on Thursday that internet services in the country have been fully restored following the complete repair of the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) undersea internet cable.
The AAE-1, a 25,000-kilometer cable, connects various regions including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Yemen, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy, and France.
Internet users across Pakistan experienced slow speeds and disrupted access to online services throughout 2024. On January 3, PTCL acknowledged the disruptions caused by a fault in the AAE-1 cable and assured customers that their teams were working diligently to resolve the issue.
By January 4, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that 80% of the bandwidth shortfall had been recovered by shifting traffic to two other cables. Despite ongoing disruptions, PTCL did not provide a precise timeline for the full resolution of the issue.
In a recent statement, PTCL confirmed the complete restoration of the AAE-1 cable, stating that internet services are now operating smoothly. The company added that the additional bandwidth they implemented ensured minimal disruption during the outage, and services on major platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram are fully functional.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and PTCL teams were praised for their tireless efforts in restoring connectivity, and PTCL thanked its customers for their patience throughout the process.
