Internet in Pakistan may become more expensive as telecom companies face higher costs for laying and maintaining cables.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Access Providers Association (PTAPA) has raised concerns with Punjab authorities and the federal government over increased cable charges at Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate (QIE).
Under the new rates, the annual rent for aerial telecom cables has increased from Rs50 to Rs300 per metre. PTAPA says these higher costs could eventually lead to more expensive internet and telecom services for consumers.
Submarine cables that connect Pakistan to the internet
Pakistan relies on multiple international submarine fiber-optic cables landed in Karachi and Gwadar for its global internet connectivity.
In July, issues were detected with the SEA-ME-WE 5 (SMW5) international submarine cable system.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said a technical fault along the SMW5 route was affecting data traffic. It warned that “some internet users may experience intermittent degradation in service quality and connectivity” as a result of the fault.
In November, a new submarine internet cable, the South-East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6), landed in Pakistan.
The cable has a total capacity of more than 100 terabits per second and will provide “one of the lowest-latency routes between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe”, according to the Ministry of Information Technology. The ministry added that Pakistan has been allocated a total capacity of 13.2Tbps.