ISLAMABAD: Millions of users in several cities of Pakistan have been facing slow internet, and this has further increased, raising concerns about internet services for daily functioning, as per media report.
Consumers say the internet is not just a convenience; it is an essential tool for work, education, and communication with loved ones. But now, this source is uncertain.
The Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (Wispap) has confirmed the rapid decline in internet speed, saying that the internet speed has dropped by 30 to 40 percent in recent weeks.
Speaking to private media, the spokesperson of the association said that now the situation has become critical, and some companies are considering shifting their operations abroad.
In this regard, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that she has asked for data from PTA on complaints of slow internet.
Talking to the media in Islamabad, the Minister of State for (IT & Telecommunication) Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that there have been complaints about internet services being affected and the internet being slow due to the installation of firewalls. “The internet should never be slow,” she said.
She added, “We are in the process of auctioning 5G. IT digital economy and digital government depend on good internet speed. PTA has asked for the data of the last two weeks; IT will know the internet speed by looking at the data traffic.”
According to the Minister of State for IT, the complaints of WhatsApp being down have been removed. “An IT firewall is a cybersecurity measure. All countries in the world are using firewalls. Even earlier, the Web Management system was run by the government.”
Shaza Fatima further said that cyber security attacks on the country are increasing globally. “The state needs to be able to prevent cyber security attacks.”
On the other hand, according to government sources, social media and internet services are expected to return to normal within two to three days. According to them, the reason for the recent outages is only technical problems.
Pakistan has more than 124 million internet users, which is more than half of the total population. In the past decade, the internet has become integrated into everyday life, with students attending online classes and entrepreneurs running businesses from their homes.
But in the past two weeks, many people have had a hard time. Users say that when the internet is slow, much of daily life comes to a standstill.
