Internet users across Pakistan may notice slower connections in busy hours through 2 November 2026, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has said, after emergency maintenance began on the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) international submarine cable.
PTCL reported that work started on 27 October 2026 on the cable segment between Italy and France. The company described the expected effect as “minor service degradation” during peak periods and asked customers for patience while the repairs continue.
Why the AAE-1 cable matters
AAE-1 is one of the main paths carrying Pakistan’s international internet traffic. The system runs roughly 25,000 kilometres from South East Asia to Europe via Egypt and comes ashore in Pakistan at Karachi. PTCL started its Pakistan operations on the cable in 2017. Links toward Europe use landing points in Greece, Italy, and France.
Because this maintenance is on the European side of the route, people are most likely to feel slower loads when they open websites, apps, or cloud services hosted in Europe—especially in the evening rush.
What PTCL has and has not said
PTCL has confirmed the window and the Italy–France location, and it has characterised the impact as limited rather than a full outage. It has not said whether it will add backup bandwidth while the work is under way. That means households and offices should plan for possible evening dips rather than assume an alternate international path will fully cover the gap.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- January 2025: A fault on AAE-1 near Qatar slowed internet across Pakistan for nearly two weeks before PTCL said the problem had been fixed.
- 27 October 2026: PTCL said emergency maintenance began on the Italy–France section of AAE-1.
- Through 2 November 2026: Users may face slower peak-hour speeds while the work continues, according to PTCL.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan mein internet peak hours mein thora slow ho sakta hai. PTCL ke mutabiq AAE-1 cable par Italy aur France ke darmiyan emergency maintenance 27 October se shuru hui hai. Yeh kaam 2 November 2026 tak chal sakta hai. Europe wali websites aur apps shaam ke waqt zyada asar dikha sakti hain.
