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By Tanveer Ahmed :
2025 has officially been recorded as the most unstable year for digital connectivity in Pakistan’s history.1 According to data shared with ProPakistani, the country suffered a staggering 68 separate internet outages, leaving millions of citizens and businesses in the dark for a cumulative total of 900 hours.2
Essentially, Pakistanis spent nearly 38 days—over a full month—of the year without reliable internet access.
The Root Causes: Why the Web Failed
Industry experts and sources within the telecommunications sector have identified three primary drivers behind this connectivity crisis:
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Regulatory Hurdles: A significant portion of the downtime was linked to state-mandated restrictions, often cited for security or testing reasons.
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Upstream Provider Faults: Breakdowns in the “backbone” of the network meant that even when local ISPs were ready, the main data supply was cut off.
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Submarine Cable Vulnerabilities: Physical damage and technical glitches in the undersea cables that connect Pakistan to the global internet caused prolonged outages.
The Economic Toll
The impact of these disruptions extends far beyond social media scrolling. With 900 hours of downtime, Pakistan’s IT exports and freelancing sector faced severe setbacks. Many international clients reportedly hesitated to hire Pakistani talent due to the “unpredictable” nature of the country’s digital infrastructure.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As the government prepares for the 5G spectrum auction in February 2026, there is growing pressure on the Ministry of IT and the PTA to address these backbone vulnerabilities. Critics argue that 5G technology will be useless if the underlying submarine cables and upstream providers remain prone to frequent failures.
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