Internet users across Pakistan may experience slower speeds during peak hours until November 2, 2026, as emergency maintenance continues on the AAE-1 international submarine cable.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited has said work began on October 27 on a section of the cable located between Italy and France.
During the maintenance period, users in Pakistan may experience what PTCL describes as minor service degradation, particularly during busy internet-usage periods.
How Long Could Internet Remain Slow?
The maintenance window is expected to continue until:
November 2, 2026
The work does not mean Pakistan’s internet will remain completely unavailable throughout this period.
Instead, some users may notice:
- slower browsing;
- longer download times;
- buffering during streaming;
- reduced performance during video calls; or
- higher latency during peak hours.
The impact can vary depending on the internet provider, location, network load and the online service being accessed.
Why Is Internet Slowing Down?
The issue is linked to maintenance on the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 submarine cable, commonly known as AAE-1.
The international fibre-optic cable carries internet traffic between Asia, Africa and Europe.
Its route stretches for roughly 25,000 kilometres, connecting Southeast Asia with Europe through the Middle East and Egypt.
Pakistan connects to AAE-1 through a landing point in Karachi.
Where Is the Maintenance Taking Place?
The current emergency maintenance is being performed on the cable section between:
Italy and France
rather than in Pakistani waters.
Because the affected segment is on the European side of the network, services relying heavily on international connectivity to Europe may be more noticeable for some users.
PTCL has not announced a nationwide internet shutdown.
Will All Internet Users Be Affected?
Not necessarily.
PTCL has warned of possible minor service degradation during peak hours, rather than saying that every connection in Pakistan will slow down equally.
The actual experience can depend on:
- your internet service provider;
- available backup capacity;
- network routing;
- time of day;
- type of online service; and
- where the service’s servers are located.
Some customers may notice little or no difference, while others could experience slower international connectivity.
Which Online Activities Could Be Most Noticeable?
Services requiring continuous or large amounts of international bandwidth may show the effects first.
These can include:
Video Calls
Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other video-conferencing platforms can be sensitive to increased latency or reduced bandwidth.
Streaming
High-resolution video streaming can require more bandwidth and may buffer if international connectivity becomes congested.
Large Downloads and Uploads
Cloud backups, large software downloads and transferring sizeable files may take longer.
Online Gaming
Games hosted on overseas servers can become more sensitive to latency and route changes.
This does not mean all these services will necessarily suffer problems; the effect will depend on network conditions.
What Can Users Do?
If speeds become noticeably slower during the maintenance window, users can try a few basic measures:
- schedule large downloads outside peak hours;
- reduce streaming resolution where necessary;
- avoid unnecessary background cloud backups;
- use wired connections for important video calls where possible; and
- check whether the problem affects all websites or only specific international services.
Restarting a router can resolve local connection problems, but it will not fix congestion caused by an international submarine cable maintenance event.
AAE-1 Has Affected Pakistan Before
Pakistan has experienced internet-performance issues linked to AAE-1 in the past.
In January 2025, a fault near Qatar affected internet connectivity before restoration work was completed.
International submarine cables are critical to Pakistan because most international data traffic ultimately travels through these undersea fibre links.
Is This a Complete Internet Outage?
No.
The current announcement concerns possible slower performance or service degradation, not a complete nationwide shutdown.
Users should therefore be cautious about social-media claims suggesting that Pakistan’s internet will be entirely disconnected until November 2.
When Will Normal Speeds Return?
The maintenance is currently scheduled to continue until November 2.
If work finishes according to schedule, any degradation directly caused by the maintenance should ease after the cable returns to normal operation.
However, internet speeds can also be affected by unrelated ISP, local-network or routing issues.
Pakistan internet users may face slower speeds through November 2, 2026, while emergency maintenance is carried out on the AAE-1 submarine cable between Italy and France.
PTCL has described the expected impact as minor service degradation during peak hours, rather than a nationwide outage.
Users relying on international video calls, streaming, gaming or large file transfers may notice the disruption more than ordinary web users.
