The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) clarified on Tuesday that recent internet slowdowns in the country are not related to the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). This statement, made during a session of the National Assembly’s IT & Telecom Committee, contradicted earlier comments by IT Minister Shaza Fatima, who had suggested that excessive VPN usage was the primary cause of the internet disruptions.
Pakistani Technical PTA officials said that VPN will not affect the internet speed in Pakistan. The authority also motivated the users to inform the specific areas where internet issues are arising, and the authority assured that they will conduct surveys as well as investigate problems in local areas.
Internet Speed and Other Key Issues of Discussion
The main issues including internet speed, Personal Data Protection Bill, property policies of PTCL, were also discussed in the meeting. One of the committee members said: “My criticism of PTA is that it could not upgrade internet speed according to its proposed date of August 31.” According to PTA, the interruptions were due to submarine cable damage, which the authority said had been rectified. Currently, there are seven submarine cables in Pakistan, and all have been repaired due to damages from weather conditions.
Regarding the Personal Data Protection Bill, the IT Ministry confirmed that the draft had been finalized and sent to all relevant stakeholders. The committee also expressed its concern about PTCL’s leasing out of properties and in undervalued sales. PTCL representatives clarified that no property sales had occurred, as bids had been below the reserve prices set for properties.
On the roll-out of 5G, PTA disclosed that a consultant is working on a spectrum policy with finalization expected in January 2025 and its rollout scheduled for April 2025.
View Forex Rate and Gold Rate
