Fault in optic fiber network causes massive internet outage in Pakistan: Officials

Pakistan on Friday suffered a massive internet outage when a technical fault in the optic fiber network caused by heavy rains cut off various areas, including the national capital Islamabad, from internet services.

However, the services were later restored, officials from the Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd (PTCL) said.

PTCL officials said that some problems in its optic fiber network caused the disruption, which have been addressed.


“Technical fault in the PTCL optic fiber network caused by heavy rains and flooding has been repaired and internet services have been restored,” PTCL tweeted, adding that all internet services in the country have become normal.

The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said some fault was reported in data networks between South and North which caused internet connectivity issues.

“This issue is being investigated. The PTA is monitoring the situation and further updates will be shared,” the authority said.

Islamabad and Lahore were among the worst hit urban centers as internet connectivity was down, causing severe problems for the banks, cellular services and all online portals.

According to the PTA, there are 116 million users of 3G and 4G services and 119 million broadband subscribers in the country.