ISLAMABAD: The ongoing saga of internet disruptions in Pakistan has left the public and businesses in a state of confusion, said Shahzad Arshad, chairman, Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP).
The recent statement by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman, Major General Hafeez ur Rehman (retired), attributing the current internet issues to a fault in the submarine cable is just the latest twist in a narrative that has been anything but clear, he added.
Arshad raised questions in a statement shared with media while saying that for weeks, there have been conflicting messages from the authorities regarding the true cause of these disruptions.
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Initially, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication downplayed the issue, assuring the public that there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Soon after, hints about a potential upgrade to the National Firewall System (NFS) emerged, followed by vague references to a “web management system.”
However, when pressed for details, officials either refrained from commenting or outright denied the involvement of the NFS. Now, in an unexpected turn, the chairman of the PTA has acknowledged not only the fault in the submarine cable but also the ongoing upgrade of the NFS.
This admission raises several critical questions: Why was the public not informed earlier? Why were there conflicting messages from different government bodies? And most importantly, why are internet users and businesses bearing the financial brunt of this confusion?
“As representatives of the WISPAP, we are deeply concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding these events. The public deserves to know what is truly happening with the country’s internet infrastructure.
Is it merely a submarine cable fault, or is there something more? The PTA’s sudden acknowledgment of the NFS upgrade, after weeks of speculation and denial, has only added to the uncertainty“, Arshad added.
This lack of clarity is not just an issue of poor communication; it is causing real financial harm. The telecom sector has already reported losses of Rs300 million, and that figure does not even account for the undocumented IT sector, which likely faces significant, unreported losses. Businesses that rely on stable internet connections are losing money every day due to these unexplained disruptions, and the public is left to bear the consequences without any clear answers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024