Users of WhatsApp and Instagram in Pakistan experienced significant outages on Saturday, as reported by Downdetector, an outage tracking platform. During a single hour, Instagram faced up to 86 disruptions, while WhatsApp users began encountering issues around 10:45 AM, particularly with sending voice messages. Additionally, mobile internet services from providers Zong and PTCL reported interruptions throughout the morning.
As of now, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has not released a statement regarding these outages. This follows a warning from the PTA in August, indicating that internet speeds across the country would likely remain slow until early October due to repairs on a submarine cable.
The PTA attributed the internet slowdown to problems with two of the seven international submarine cables: the SMW4 and AAE-1 cables. Repairs on the SMW4 cable are expected to be completed by early October 2024, while the AAE-1 cable has already been successfully repaired. This repair is anticipated to improve the overall internet experience for users across the country.
The recent outages highlight ongoing connectivity challenges in Pakistan, particularly affecting popular platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, which are widely used for communication and social media. Users are hoping for a swift resolution to these issues as the PTA works to address the underlying cable problems and restore full service.
