ISLAMABAD: In a candid admission on the floor of the National Assembly, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, revealed on Friday that no investment has been made in Pakistan’s telecom infrastructure over the past three years. The minister attributed the stagnation to the financial turmoil inherited from the previous government, which left the country on the brink of economic collapse.

Internet and VPNs Functional, Says IT Minister

During the Question Hour, the minister addressed concerns raised by PPP lawmaker Shazia Marri regarding sluggish internet speeds and the suspension of VPNs, which have disrupted access to apps like WhatsApp. Khawaja assured the house that internet services, including VPNs and WhatsApp, were fully operational. She urged Ms. Marri to provide specific examples of malfunctioning VPNs or industries facing issues, emphasizing that industries relying on fixed-line connections had not reported significant problems.

Blame on the Previous Government

Responding to criticism, the minister laid the blame for the telecom sector’s lack of growth squarely on the previous PTI government. She stated that the country’s inability to import critical telecom equipment due to frozen letters of credit and fears of default had severely hindered infrastructure development.

“Telecom infrastructure is entirely import-based. When the PTI government left in 2022, no one was willing to open letters of credit due to the looming threat of default,” Khawaja explained.

She also noted the absence of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector over the same period.

Hopes for Economic Recovery and FDI

Highlighting recent improvements in Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators, Khawaja expressed optimism that stable currency rates, lower inflation, and reduced interest rates would attract foreign investment. “With these positive changes, we expect FDI to flow into the telecom sector, enabling us to improve internet availability and infrastructure,” she said.

Progress and Challenges in Connectivity

The minister outlined several developments to improve connectivity. Pakistan currently has seven submarine cables, although one has reached the end of its lifespan. The Africa-2 cable has landed in the country and is expected to become operational within months, boosting internet capacity. Additionally, the Pakistan-China optic-fiber cable has been operationalized, and plans are underway to connect submarine cables to Central Asian states via the Wakhan corridor.

Despite these advancements, Khawaja acknowledged congestion in internet services, citing a lack of investment, limited spectrum, and submarine cable capacity constraints.

IT Export Growth

Khawaja also pointed to a 28% increase in Pakistan’s IT services export remittances, which reached $1.86 billion in the first half of the current financial year. This, she claimed, demonstrated improvements in internet speed and usage.

Opposition Protest Halts Proceedings

Meanwhile, the National Assembly session was marred by persistent protests from PTI members for the fifth consecutive day. Opposition lawmakers disrupted proceedings by raising slogans, thumping desks, and pointing out a lack of quorum. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, visibly frustrated, adjourned the session until Monday evening after failing to complete even the Question Hour.

The ongoing political turmoil, coupled with the challenges in the telecom sector, underscores the urgent need for sustained investment and policy reforms to address Pakistan’s digital infrastructure woes.

The post Pakistan Faces Internet Woes Amid Telecom Neglect, Says IT Minister appeared first on Techlist.

Inflation is on the rise in Pakistan these days, which is not surprising. Cars, mobile phones, computer gear, groceries, fuel, and almost everything else in the country has been affected by the slumping economy. In addition, the government has suggested raising taxes in the upcoming budget.

Nayatel is the most recent victim of high inflation, having just announced a price increase. Customers were recently notified of the anticipated price increase by email from the Internet Service Provider (ISP).According to the ISP, internet bandwidth charges have risen as a direct result of the strengthening of the US currency. Rents, electricity, and other costs have risen dramatically as a result.

As a result, Nayatel will increase the cost of its internet packages by the “least possible amount.” It is unknown how much of a raise we will receive, but the adjustment will take effect on June 1, 2022. However, because this is not the first time an ISP has raised its prices, the cost rise will not be significant. Similar modifications have been made by PTCL in the past, but the price increases were typically minor at most.

Given the significant rise in pricing and devaluation of the Pakistani rupee, it’s probable that other ISPs will follow in Nayatel’s footsteps.

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According to well-informed sources, a power reconfiguration activity on a portion of international undersea cable, SMW4, will take place on April 21, 2022, from 02:00 AM to 07:00 AM.

Some internet users may notice a reduction in speed as a result of this. To meet capacity requirements and return to full functionality as quickly as possible, alternative measures to provide users with uninterrupted internet services will be taken.

The South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4, SMW4) undersea cable connects Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria, and France across a distance of roughly 18,800 kilometres.

The SMW4 cable system comprises of two fibre pairs with a design capacity of 1.28 terabits per second, which was expanded to 4.6 terabits per second in 2015.

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Transworld Associates (TWA) are enhancing their bandwidth capacity by up to four times. Transworld Association provides Pakistan with Internet and Voice Data Services. Internet Bandwidth increased by up to 4x. TWA operate fiber optics that is under sea.

On Thursday according to a press release that the technology had become advanced with changes by the developers,

“its main endpoints are carrier-neutral, open Points-of-Presence (PoPs) and not Cable Landing Stations (CLS).”

Linette Lee who is Management Committee’s chair person said,

“The completion of the project is a landmark system upgrade for all data users worldwide. This system facilitates a new age of digital transformation and innovation, catalyzing greater economic activities, trade and growth across three continents.”

TWA marketing manager Bilal Mughal said while talking to TR Pakistan,

It would be a matter of days before end users could get enhanced speeds after ISPs and cellular services providers request bandwidth upgrades”

Other 15 members of the SEA-ME-WE 5 Consortium are:

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited, China Mobile International, China Telecom Global, China United Network Communications Group Company Limited, Djibouti Telecom, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, Myanmar Post and Telecom, Ooredoo, Orange, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International, Saudi Telecom Company, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, Sparkle, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia Berhad, TeleYemen, and Turk Telekom International.

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The latency rate is increasing for local traffic within the country. There is a great interval of time in stimulation and response. That is creating problems for the servers and customers. To reduce this effect the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) has been introduced in Pakistan. It is the first of its kind. This is like a bridge between two lands. This bridge links Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Contact Delivery Networks (CDNs) to exchange network traffic.
Initially IXP is a connection which lets two networks to connect directly without any interference from other networks. This is one to one link, making it easier for all networks.

Days back before the arrival of Internet Exchange Point the networks from abroad were routed using different proxies. The proxies were even used for traffic within Pakistan. Local connections will be allowed which will lower the pings and feedback time for local connections. The Pakistan Telecommunication authority allowed the construction of IXP on Pakistan. With the association of Internet Society (ISOC) it was introduced first time in Pakistan. IXP is located in the grounds of Higher Education Commission (HEC).

According to the sources, This testing is no longer than two weeks. If it is successful in Pakistan than it will be formally established in the country.

Govt is intending to establish more Internet Exchange Point in Lahore and Karachi very soon. Being a vital part of Telecommunication Policy 2015, Internet Exchange Point has now been established.

The policy is as follows:
“Internet and other traffic will be exchanged within Pakistan using local peering or exchange points as far as it is possible to do so, recognizing that the use of international peering points in other countries imposes an unnecessary cost burden and a potential security risk” “PTA will take appropriate measures in consultation with stakeholders to encourage establishment of local peering and exchange points of IP traffic on legally established gateways in Pakistan”

How does the Internet Exchange Point work? Now you don’t need to search any foreign networks because when you use local ISP a ping is sent to hosting server, for instance on Transworld and then IXP is used to route traffic located outside Pakistan. After that it will be sent to our local IXP once it is established.

The distance matters a lot in these kinds of networks. The distance between client and the main server is shorter but still the latency rate is high it increases because local internet request has to cover huge distance. It has to travel all the way to the hosting Internet Exchange Point to be routed back to the local server resulting in low data transfer rates.

The introduction of IXP is a great benefit to all networks. It is an important advancement in field of technology. It will provide a better communication, full on customer satisfaction, efficient business and a lot more.

The post Pakistan’s First Internet Exchange Point Has Started In Islamabad appeared first on Techlist.

“Freedom of expression is under pressure in Pakistan. Increasing restrictions are being placed on the digital freedoms of individuals and civil society organizations alike. Ms Dad is a staunch defender of digital rights and the importance of protecting women and girls and marginalized groups on social media. Mr. Koenders hopes that this prize will serve as a gesture of support for the freedom of internet users, especially women.” The Government of Netherlands said while announcing the award. Source

We all are well aware of the fact that women are bullied usually and nowadays when technology is getting advance day by day cyber bullying is getting more common. Nighat Dad, Founder and CEO of Digital Rights Foundation and a popular face for the digital rights activism in Pakistan has been awarded the 2016 Human Rights Tulip Award.

The award has been announced but the official award is going to be handed over on 10th December that is Human Rights Day, at The Hague, where Nighat Dad will be handed over a bronze sculpture and €100,000 to further her cause.

The Human Rights Tulip is a coveted award for all those people who have tried to protect their community in different and unique ways.

Nighat being the activist has always worked for betterment of the community. She is selfless because she has planned to use the prize money for setting up Pakistan’s first ever cyber harassment hotline. The hotline intends to safeguard all women against cyber bullying.

She aims the end of hate, anger, and negativity on digital circles due to which there is a huge feeling of insecurity. The hotline will help, guide and connect the victims to relevant authorities for quick solutions.

This would be a really important advancement as people will feel safe online. Firstly congratulating the selfless hero Nighat and wishing a very best of luck for her aim.

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