KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance and Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board Mian Zahid Hussain, said that the slow internet is badly affecting the economy.
Businesses are bearing the brunt of the slow internet, underscoring the urgent need for a solution, he said.
He asked for government’s intervention to resolve issue, saying it is not just a suggestion, it’s a necessity. The impact on businesses and foreign exchange earnings demands immediate action.
He said that Pakistan has become one of the countries with the slowest internet.
According to a report by a global organisation, Pakistan’s internet speed ranks dismally at 100th out of 111 countries for mobile internet speed and 141st out of 155 countries for broadband speed, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Zahid said it is a matter of great concern that the country’s internet speed is slower than Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Ghana, and Bhutan. This slowness is putting billions of rupees of investment and millions of jobs at stake.
Hen noted that while the government is making announcements to increase IT exports to five billion dollars, the internet is constantly slowing down and shutting down frequently, which is affecting millions of users and those working and earning online.
He noted that this sector would only disappear if the slow internet speed and disruption does not end.
He said that many Pakistani companies are winding up their businesses and moving to the United Arab Emirates, where they can easily access the world’s fastest internet.
Many foreign companies are avoiding doing business with Pakistani companies, hitting the expected growth in this promising sector.
The average mobile internet speed in the UAE is 542 megabits per second (Mbps), and the average broadband speed is more than 358 Mbps. In comparison, the average mobile internet speed in Pakistan is 20 Mbps, and the average broadband speed is less than 16 Mbps, which is regrettable.
Mian Zahid said that according to relevant experts, an hour of internet shutdown causes a loss of one million dollars to the export industry. Companies must take other measures to deal with these problems, such as increasing business costs while reducing competitiveness.
On the other hand, he said freelancers are also very worried, and e-commerce has been devastated because they face difficulties accessing social media apps and sending messages on WhatsApp.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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