Undersea cable fault near Jeddah may disrupt internet in Pakistan

Pakistan’s internet users could face service disruptions after faults were reported in submarine cables near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) confirmed on Saturday.

According to a PTCL Group spokesperson, the issue has partially affected bandwidth on the South Asia-Middle East-West Asia (SMW4) and IMEWE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) undersea systems. As a result, users may experience a decline in service quality, particularly during peak hours.

PTCL said its international partner organisations are working on priority to fix the fault. “We are grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding,” the spokesperson added, while noting that local teams are arranging alternate bandwidth to reduce the impact.

Pakistan has faced similar issues in recent years. In January 2025, damage to the Africa-Asia-Europe (AAE-1) cable near Qatar disrupted internet and broadband services. The AAE-1 system had suffered multiple faults during 2024, repeatedly affecting connectivity in the country.