PTA responds to internet service problems across Pakistan

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) addressed complaints about slow internet across Pakistan on Thursday.

A Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology meeting, led by Palwasha Khan, discussed the issue, according to ARY News.

Senators Afnanullah Khan and Humayun Mohmand highlighted that many e-commerce platforms are leaving Pakistan due to poor internet speeds. Khan also noted that users are experiencing difficulties uploading or downloading media files on WhatsApp.

“You’ve messed up the business activities,” Senator Humayun pointed out to PTA and IT ministry officials at the meeting. In response, the IT Secretary stated, “The problem with internet services is due to cellular networks, not WiFi.”

The PTA official added that they have not yet received any formal complaints about slow internet speeds in the country.

The PTA officials were expected to provide information about firewall installations during the meeting, but due to their unavailability, the meeting was postponed.

The Pakistani government has installed a firewall across Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to manage social media. This decision followed the introduction of the Defamation Law 2024 by the Punjab government. The firewall aims to control social media and regulate internet traffic using deep packet inspection (DPI) technology to monitor data in detail.