18 Hours Internet Services in Pakistan to Slow Down Due to Submarine Cable Repairs, Says PTCL

October 14, 2025, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has announced that internet services across the country will face degradation starting Tuesday, October 14, due to urgent maintenance work on a submarine cable.

In an official post on X (formerly Twitter), PTCL confirmed that a faulty repeater in one of the undersea cables will be repaired starting at 11:00 AM PST, with the activity expected to last up to 18 hours.

“During this period, customers will face internet service degradation. We regret the inconvenience,” the telecom giant stated.

The development comes amid growing user complaints about slow internet and limited access to key services. Downdetector, an online outage tracking platform, reported disruptions on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram in Pakistan, as users experienced intermittent connectivity.

This is not the first time submarine cable faults have affected digital connectivity in Pakistan. In September, PTCL had warned that cuts to submarine cables in Saudi territorial waters could impact internet speeds during peak usage hours.

Earlier in January 2024, a fault in the AAE-1 subsea internet cable caused widespread slowdowns across the country. PTCL had taken nearly two weeks to fully restore services at that time.

With Pakistan’s increasing reliance on digital services for education, business, and communication, disruptions to undersea cable infrastructure continue to pose significant challenges to nationwide connectivity.

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Users are advised to plan their online activities accordingly, especially during the scheduled maintenance window.