Fault in International Cable System Disrupts Internet Services Nationwide

Users across Pakistan are experiencing disrupted internet services as Internet Service Providers across the nation have notified users of the fault. The fault is said to be in SMW_5 international submarine cables. The South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore and France. At this time, the issue has not been resolved and users can face some problems in internet browsing quality. While PTA or PTCL have not confirmed an issue as of yet according to official social media accounts, multiple users from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore have reported that they experienced slow internet speeds and ISPs across the country have confirmed the issue to their users. This issue comes at an unfortunate time for users nationwide as companies have begun work from home due to the on-going Coronavirus pandemic.