ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has topped the global list for financial losses caused by internet disruptions and social media app outages in the last year, 2024.
According to the Top 10 VPN report, Pakistan suffered a total financial loss of $1.62 billion, topping the chart.
The report added that Pakistan outpaced civil war-affected nations like Sudan and Myanmar in terms of financial losses due to the internet disruptions.
The report also claimed that global internet disruptions accumulated to 88,788 hours, leading to a total loss of $7.69 billion.
In 2024, Pakistan shut down the internet 18 times on several occasions like Muharram processions and opposition protests.
These outages, including slow internet, lasted a total of 9,735 hours and impacted 82.9 million users, it added.
The report further stated that the shutdown of social media platform X was the most costly, with an estimated financial impact of $1.34 billion.
The report’s findings were calculated using the Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST), developed by Netblocks, a global organization that tracks internet disruptions and censorship.
On Thursday, a technical fault in the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), international submarine cable system, has led to internet disruption worldwide including in Pakistan.
According to the initial reports, the fault occurred near Qatar, leading to the complete shutdown of the AAE-1 cable. The National Operation Center (NOC) in Qatar and the AAE-1 cable consortium have been working to resolve the issue.
Pakistan is set to enhance its internet speeds and connectivity by joining the 2Africa submarine cable network, which is expected to go live in the country by Q4 2025.
This cable system spans 45,000 kilometers and connects 46 locations across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, with the capacity to offer up to 180 Tbps using SDM1 technology.
The 2Africa system, one of the world’s largest submarine cable projects, spans 45,000 kilometers and connects 46 locations across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
This cable system promises lightning-fast data transfer speeds of up to 180 terabits per second (Tbps) using advanced Space Division Multiplexing (SDM1) technology.
