The failure of Pakistan’s mobile network–both call and data has exposed the fragility of Pakistan’s telecommunications infrastructure, and the weaknesses of the broader structural environment within which mobile networks operate, says a report appeared on the website of Tabadlab that seeks to understand, interpret and analyze how change happens.
The report coauthored by Naeha Rashid, Maira Sheikh, and Alina Khan says: the failure in the country’s foundational digital layer was triggered by the floods, but the real problem goes deeper.
It says without immediate intervention, the industry is prone to collapse. Such a collapse would devastate not just Pakistan’s broader digital transformation journey, but also the lives of Pakistan’s 195 million telecommunications subscribers and 123 million broadband subscribers.
Employing PTA’s data the report reveals that In the wake of the floods, a total of 3386 cell sites were marked inactive across flood-impacted provinces, resulting in suspensions in mobile connectivity and internet services. The affected areas included Chitral, Swat, Upper and Low Dir, Tank, D.I Khan, Zhob, Killa Saifullah, Killa Abdullah, Quetta, Loralai, Khuzdar, Panjgur, Ghotki, Sukkur and Khairpur.
This inactivity, the report writes thousands of affectees experienced intermittent connectivity, making it difficult for them to contact loved ones or reach out to relief teams.
The report says the connectivity failures at the time of the floods are largely associated with structural and technical damages to core infrastructure.
Pakistan has six main fibre optic cables covering 130,000 km to 150,000 km powering both fixed broadband as well as mobile broadband and are approximately 50,633[a] cell towers. Only 5% of towers are connected to the fibre optic network which is significantly lower than the international standard of 40%.
In the aftermath of the floods, several cuts in the fibre optic network were reported making several cell sites inactive. While the PTA shared that the total number of inactive cell sites were reduced from 3,386 to 135 many of the remaining inactive sites – specifically those in Balochistan and Sindh – are still underwater and cannot be accessed for repairs.
Relief efforts are likely to further worsen this picture. Pakistan’s fibre optic network runs under highways and railway tracks, many of which were washed away because of heavy flooding. Diverting water flow requires digging roads and building trenches using heavy machinery, which can create further damage to the fibre optic network. As we have already seen, damage to one part of the fibre optic cable can digitally paralyse a much greater area since limited alternatives are available.
While the floods’ impact on infrastructure is undeniable, connectivity interruptions over the last few weeks are both a consequence of the floods, and a reflection of the fragile state of our telecommunications sector. Had the underlying infrastructure been more robust, the industry would have been much more resilient in the face of a single large-scale event. However, the issues go deeper and have been materializing for some time.
Despite significant demand for mobile broadband services – which has translated into 108% growth in subscriptions over the last five years – serious issues plague the telecommunications sector. Beyond the floods, a digital emergency is at hand for all actors in space.
The report further says: Financial results from the last few years show that, though both top line revenue and the customer base are largely increasing, the rate of growth has slowed down for almost all major players.
Like the big MNOs, users are also suffering, with individuals experiencing decreased quality mobile broadband: jitters rose by 19%, and latency has also increased by 8%. This means that not only are there higher fail rates, but people on the ground are also experiencing slower internet speeds in real terms.
In a context where average download and upload speeds are diverging increasingly from global averages, the declining customer experience of mobile broadband is a serious concern. In 2022, Pakistan’s ranking on the Speed Test Global Index for mobile broadband went down 7 rankings from 113 to 120 in the world.
As the data shows, the report says the telecommunications industry is not just fragile and prone to collapse in the face of natural disasters. It is also on the decline both from a business and user point of view. — ERMD