PTA says submarine cable fault may cause intermittent internet disruption

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Thursday it was closely monitoring internet traffic disruptions caused by a fault in the SEA-ME-WE 5 (SMW5) international submarine cable system, which was likely to cause intermittent degradation in service quality and connectivity. The telecom authority added that Transworld Associates (TWA) is coordinating with the SMW5 consortium to “identify the root cause of the fault” and determine the estimated time for restoration. According to its website, TWA is the only private-sector operator with exclusive ownership of submarine fibre-optic cable systems. “In the meantime, internet traffic is being rerouted through alternate international links to minimise the impact and ensure service continuity to the greatest extent possible,” the statement added. Meanwhile, TWA customers received an SMS apologising for the inconvenience and stating that there was a “technical fault” in one of its submarine cables. “Our technical teams are effectively working and we will update you accordingly,” the message read. The PTA said it remains in close coordination with the relevant stakeholders and will continue to monitor the situation. 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 over 100 terabit per second and it will provide “one of the lowest-latency routes between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe”, said the information technology ministry. It added that Pakistan has been allocated a total of 13.2tbps. The ministry elaborated that SEA-ME-WE 6 features “more fibre pairs and more than double the capacity” of previous SEA-ME-WE systems, enhancing resilience and diversification across high-traffic Asia-Europe routes through trans-Egypt geo-diversified crossings and landing points.