Internet users in Pakistan may notice slower connections during busy hours until November 2, 2026, while emergency repair work continues on the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) submarine cable, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has announced.
What happened?
PTCL said repair work has begun on the section of the AAE-1 cable between Italy and France, and that customers may experience minor service degradation, mainly during peak hours, while the work is under way. The maintenance window runs from October 27 to November 2, 2026.
Key details
- The affected section lies between Italy and France, on the European end of the cable.
- Users are most likely to notice slower loading for websites and services hosted in Europe, particularly during evening peak hours.
- The AAE-1 system stretches about 25,000 kilometres, linking Southeast Asia with Europe through Egypt, and lands in Pakistan at Karachi.
- PTCL has operated on the cable in Pakistan since 2017, with European landing points in Greece, Italy and France.
- The company has appealed for patience and cooperation, but has not said whether extra backup bandwidth will be arranged during the repairs.
- This is not the first disruption on the route: a fault near Qatar in January 2025 slowed internet speeds across Pakistan for nearly two weeks before it was fixed.
What it means for people in Pakistan
For students, remote workers, freelancers and businesses that depend on video calls, streaming and cloud tools, the practical effect is slower browsing and downloads at busy times rather than a full outage. Heavy tasks are best scheduled outside evening peak hours until the maintenance window ends on November 2.
Source: https://www.techjuice.pk/pakistan-internet-users-may-face-slow-speeds-until-november-2/
