Repair work at a faulty undersea fibre-optic cable that has virtually crippled Internet access in Pakistan was expected to begin later on Sunday after sonic tests narrowed down the fault, officials said. The submarine cable, Pakistan''s sole international cable link for data and the Internet, developed a fault on June 27, causing many businesses across the country to grind to a halt.
A submarine cable-laying and maintenance ship of Emirates Telecommunications Co, of the United Arab Emirates, arrived in Karachi on Saturday evening to repair the cable.
"We have narrowed down the fault after carrying out some sonic testing," Mashkoor Hussain, vice president of operations at Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL), which operates the data link, told Reuters.
Experts have traced fault in the submarine cable by using the electrode testing system, the PTCL sources said.
The fault was traced by sending signals from land to the submarine cable and the signals indicated a fault at 11 to 15 kilometres'' distance in the sea from Karachi, the sources added.
The experts were working from Sunday morning to trace out the place of the fault under sea, Mashkoor Hussain said while talking to a private channel.
He told Reuters it was difficult to say how long it would take to carry out repairs. The faulty portion of the cable either would be repaired or replaced with a new one, Mashkoor added.
After the cable fault, the PTCL provided businesses with satellite back-up systems, restoring some Internet access but most users remained offline.
The cable fault raised questions about the future of the country''s fledgling call centre business but industry officials said new links should reassure investors.
Two new links, one a submarine cable and the other a land link with India, are being laid and are due to come on stream this year, officials said.
Pakistan has 25 call centre operators employing up to 2,000 people, with a combined revenue of up to $15 million a year.
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