In a bid to address recent internet disruptions, the government has launched the Africa-2 Cable Project, a state-of-the-art initiative designed to improve internet infrastructure and improve data transmission across the country, Express News reported on Thursday.
The Africa-2 Cable Project is the world’s largest undersea network, stretching 45,000 kilometers. It spans 33 countries and includes 46 landing stations globally, marking an important milestone for international Internet infrastructure.
According to a recent report by global internet monitor Top10VPN.com, Pakistan suffered the largest economic losses in the world due to internet outages in 2024, with total losses of $1.62 billion. This figure exceeded the losses in conflict-affected countries such as Sudan and Myanmar.
The report, published on January 2, revealed that Pakistan experienced a staggering 9,735 hours of internet outages, affecting 82.9 million users. The disruptions were primarily attributed to political events, including elections and protests.
In response to recent internet slowdowns, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) arranged temporary bandwidth to address disruptions caused by a fault in the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) undersea cable, which affected the country’s internet performance.
The AAE-1 cable is one of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan to global networks.
In addition, the government is in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink to introduce satellite internet services in Pakistan, as part of a wider effort to improve connectivity across the country. The challenges posed by internet disruptions continue to weigh heavily on Pakistan’s IT sector, especially its freelancers.
