Pakistan's Telecom Crisis: Fuel Theft, Power Woes Disrupt Services

A Senate sub-committee in Pakistan voices concern after telecom sites face significant internet disruptions and fuel theft, impacting 16% of infrastructure over 11 months. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority reports outages exacerbated by load shedding, urging urgent measures and classification of internet as an essential service.

A Senate sub-committee in Pakistan is raising alarms over significant disruptions to the country's telecom infrastructure, as rampant internet degradation and fuel theft from telecom sites have affected nearly 16% of cellular services over the past 11 months, according to a report by Dawn.

The data reveals Sindh as the most affected region with 3,938 fuel theft cases across 31 districts, followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan with thousands of incidents. Officials from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) attribute service deterioration to continuous load shedding, which is depleting backup power sources.

To tackle these challenges, the PTA is working with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to prioritize power supply to critical telecom nodes. The sub-committee has called on authorities to identify high-theft areas and strongly enforce laws, stressing the need to classify internet services as essential to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.