Pakistan was ranked among the lowest 12 per cent globally for mobile and broadband internet speeds in October, data from Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index showed on Monday.

The index ranked Pakistan at 100 out of 111 countries in mobile internet speeds, and 141 out of 158 countries in broadband speeds.

For the last few months, users across the country have experienced sluggish speeds, difficulty downloading media on WhatsApp, and intermittent connectivity issues.

The country’s frequent internet disruptions were coupled with reports of restricted access to virtual private networks (VPNs) which many Pakistanis use to access X, among other restricted websites.

According to the World Population Review, which used data from Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index and Cable, Pakistan’s mean download speed was 7.85MBPS with the median mobile download speed of 19.59MBPS and median broadband download speed of 15.52MBPS.

As of May 2023, Pakistan was ranked as having one of the lowest internet speeds in the world, according to a report on the digital landscape and human rights in the country.

Firewall

After months of speculation about the installation of a so-called “firewall” that could be leading to internet disruptions, the country’s IT minister confirmed in Aug that the government was indeed upgrading its “web management system” to cope with cyber security threats.

Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, when asked about the firewall, said the issue had been “blown out of proportion”.

“The government has been operating a web-management system. The system is now being upgraded.”

Amnesty International had called on Pakistani authorities to provide greater transparency on the nationwide internet slowdown and the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies.

“The opacity of the Pakistani authorities regarding the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies that block content, slow down, and control internet speeds is an alarming concern,” the rights group said in a statement.

But the government has repeatedly denied such claims. Khawaja stated, “There is nothing controversial about a country working on its cyber security,” she said, adding that the entire world used different cyber security mechanisms.

She also said that given Pakistan faced “millions of cyber attacks” daily, it was getting increasingly difficult to detect terrorist activity in the country.

VPN access

Last month, the interior ministry sought a ban on the unregulated use of VPNs, citing their use by terrorists to “facilitate violent activities” and to “access pornographic and blasphemous content”.

“VPNs are increasingly being exploited by the terrorists to facilitate violent activities and financial transactions in Pakistan,” the ministry said in a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

PTA, which has consistently denied restricting access to VPNs attributing disruptions to a technical glitch, urged citizens to register VPNs by Nov 30 after which unregistered connections will be blocked.

Earlier in December, sources in the interior ministry told Dawn that the ministry has withdrawn their request over lack of legal grounds.

“There was an interpretation issue with the clauses in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, and eventually, it has been noted that the reading of the interior ministry in this regard was weak, and the courts would allow the functioning of the VPNs,” the sources added.