ISLAMABAD: With increased use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), the data usage increase at the cost of more foreign exchange (@$1 per MB), an increase of 1Tbps would cost to $10,000 per minute, says the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The authority revealed staggering financial losses caused by excessive VPN usage during internet disruptions. The report highlighted that bandwidth usage through VPNs spiked to an unprecedented 634Gbps in August 2024, before gradually decreasing to 378Gbps in November.

By December, there were notable improvements in internet services, and VPN usage dropped slightly to 437Gbps.

The PTA linked the increasing usage of VPN to pressure and disruptions in internet infrastructure, which pushed users to bypass local Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). The PTA documents noted that 70 percent of the internet in Pakistan is provided through CDNs.

The VPNs transfer traffic to international servers, avoiding local CDNs. This redirection overwhelmed global submarine cables, particularly during peak usage hours, and caused additional strain on the system, as the submarine is incapable of handling the load during rush hours.

The documents noted that existing submarine cable capacity is approximately 9.5Gbps. The PTA emphasised the need for significant upgrades to Pakistan’s internet infrastructure, including increasing the capacity of submarine cables and enhancing local routing systems to reduce dependence on international servers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025