ISLAMABAD: A fault in the international submarine cable, SMW4, operated by the Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL), has slowed down internet services in Pakistan.

“A fault has been reported in the international submarine cable, SMW4, in the Indian Ocean due to which some internet users may experience downgraded speeds during peak hours,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Thursday.

It further said that it had taken alternate measures to meet capacity requirements in the system to provide uninterrupted internet services to the users.

“Work is underway to fully restore internet services at the earliest. PTA is monitoring the situation and will continue to update on it,” the statement added.

This is the second time in less than a month that the international submarine cable has developed a fault.

A similar fault had affected the internet on December 21, after which PTCL had started to shift internet traffic to other cables.

PTCL issued a statement saying that arrangements had been made for “alternate bandwidth,” which will be added to the system in the next couple of days.

The PTA said the fault developed at SEA-ME-WE 4 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4), which is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France.