Tag: Internet speed

  • Internet speed normalises worldwide, remains slow in Pakistan

    Internet speed normalises worldwide, remains slow in Pakistan

    An undersea cable cut last week disrupted internet service globally, bringing speeds down across the world, but got resolved within two days. Despite the restoration of online communication worldwide, internet speed in Pakistan is still slow.

    Experts attribute the slow internet to technical reasons.

    According to Samaa News, telecom expert Pervaiz Iftikhar explains that internet access via mobile devices relies on spectrum, and Pakistan has the lowest spectrum availability in the region. Additionally, the penetration of optical fiber is very low, which affects internet speed.

    It has also been noted that cable quality, digital traffic growth, and climate change impact internet service, but there are also rumors that the internet may be slowing down due to a firewall.

    Cyber expert Ammar Jafari points out that while firewalls are necessary for securing systems, every country has the right to protect its own networks to prevent the spread of harmful content or other problems.

    Others, however, argue that slow internet speeds are detrimental to the country’s economy. Officials from the IT Ministry have requested an explanation from PTA to determine the cause of the slow internet, as only the regulator can provide the full truth.

  • Google announces launch of 8gbps internet service

    Google announces launch of 8gbps internet service

    Google Fiber’s unexpected return will result in a significant increase in internet speeds. Google has disclosed that it will offer 5 Gbps and 8 Gbps subscriptions in early 2023.

    Symmetric upload and download rates, a WiFi 6 router, and up to two mesh network extenders will be included in both levels. According to the corporation, the changes should aid in large file transfers while minimising lag and jittering.

    Customers in Kansas City and Utah can test the faster plans as early as November if they sign up to become ‘trusted’ testers. If they qualify, Google will ask how they intend to use the additional bandwidth, according to The Verge.

    This is a significant improvement over Google’s previous-best 2 Gbps service, which was introduced in 2020, and it might make a significant impact if you’re a gamer or rely on cloud computing. If a 150 GB Microsoft Flight Simulator download takes 11 minutes at 2 Gbps, the 8 Gbps plan might reduce that time to under three minutes under perfect conditions.

    It certainly makes ordinary cable internet plans appear costly. Comcast, for example, already provides 6 Gbps service in select regions, but it costs $300 per month on contract and does not yet provide symmetric uploads.

    In any case, the new plans are a statement of intent. Along with the first network additions in five years, the faster speeds indicate that Google is returning to Fiber’s beginnings. That is, it is raising expectations for truly fast internet access while also (to some extent) increasing competition among incumbent providers.

    Of course, this might help Google promote its other services, but you might not mind if it offers telcos an extra incentive to push out ’10G’ and other comparable upgrades sooner than they otherwise would.

  • Having issues with your internet speed? Here’s why

    Having issues with your internet speed? Here’s why

    Internet users in Pakistan are reporting slow internet speed since yesterday (Monday). As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the internet’s speed in Pakistan is affected by 1 terabyte because of a fault in South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) optical fibre submarine cable, reports Geo.

    South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France.

    As per media reports, internet speed during the peak hours is likely to be further affected. The repair work of SEA-ME-WE 4 will be completed in January 2022.

  • Pak in top ten list of ‘abusers of internet freedom’

    Washington-based Freedom House, in its latest report titled ‘Freedom on the Net 2021: The Global Drive to Control Big Tech’, ranked Pakistan seventh among “abusers of internet freedom”.

    Imran Ayub for Dawn writes that according to the research, global internet freedom had declined for the 11th consecutive year.

    “Pakistan’s proposed Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules which outlines requirements for social media companies to establish one or more data servers in the country would lead to a negative impact on companies and the users,” said the report.

    “Pakistan’s proposed rules have raised alarms about their impact on end-to-end encryption. The draft requires social media companies and service providers with more than 500,000 users to hand over personal data in a decrypted and readable format when requested by the Federal Investigation Agency,” it added.

    The findings suggested that Internet freedom faced a serious and major challenge not only in Pakistan but around the globe as the situation is quite worse in Myanmar, Uganda and Belarus.

    Freedom House also found Pakistan among 24 countries that have given guidelines on how platforms treat content.

    “More governments arrested users for nonviolent political, social or religious speech than ever before. Officials suspended internet access in at least 20 countries, and 21 states blocked access to social media platforms. Authorities in at least 45 countries are suspected of obtaining sophisticated spyware or data-extraction technology from private vendors,” it concluded.

  • Pakistan to introduce 5G by end of 2021

    Pakistan to introduce 5G by end of 2021

    In an attempt to catch on with the rest of the world in terms of the latest technology, Pakistan Information Technology Minister Aminul Haq has announced that the government will introduce 5G wireless technology by December 2021.

    In a statement, the IT minister said that the government was taking effective measures to introduce the latest service in Pakistan and it would ensure that this is done by the end of next year.

    The trial run of 5G would start from a hospital in Islamabad and Zong, a Chinese telecom company, would help the government in this regard, he said. However, before this step, the government will have to connect Islamabad, Karachi, and Gwadar via fibre optics network, he added.

    Furthermore, the IT ministry has established a policy committee on bidding for the 5G service. The committee has the representation of the members of all the stakeholders — telecom companies and the Frequency Allocation Board.

    The committee is currently looking for an international consultant to auction the 5G licences, which would be followed by the biddingprocess, its starting price, and other conditions.

    In August 2019, Pakistan successfully tested 5G network in the country. “Zong has become the first operator in Pakistan to successfully conduct a 5G trial and this is yet another milestone for the company,” Wang Hua, chairman and CEO of Zong, had said following the trials.

    Khaleej Times had reported that the 5G service in Pakistan will be 100 times faster than the current levels, while the network will be 10 times faster than existing broadband connections available in the country. “5G home routers speed has been recorded at 4 gigabytes per second, which means that it can download a 50gb file in just two minutes,” the report had added.

    But the road to 5G isn’t easy and Pakistan still has to go a long way to achieve this milestone. For example, the United States only has 5G coverage in 25 cities, whereas in China, only 50 cities have 5G coverage. “On top of it, the kind of 5G available for now is some kind of speed boost over 4G instead of the full-fledged 5G services,” said a report by Profit magazine.

  • Tips to increase your internet speed

    Tips to increase your internet speed

    Internet has become an essential part of our daily life and according to report more than 3 billion people use the internet daily around the world for various reasons including work, research, listen to songs, or to find friends on social media.

    Each user pays a handsome amount to get fast internet connection in their homes and offices, so getting good speed is a very important factor.

    There are virtually countless reasons why your internet might not be performing as you expect it to. A few common reasons are old software or hardware, too many other computers or mobile items on the network, ongoing downloads, signal interference from walls or other appliances and low Internet speed from your service provider.

    The following are some important tips that have proven their effectiveness for increasing internet speed.

    Decrease the distance between your computer and your router 

    If you are connected to the internet via a Wi-Fi router, the internet speed drops as you move further away from your router. Stay as close as possible to your router for maximum internet speed.

    Delete Unnecessary toolbars

    Removal of unused toolbars from your internet browser can speed up your network. You can also increase internet speed by using the browser in turbo mode, which increases the speed of work in the network by almost 10%.

    Unplug your router and modem for a few minutes

    This process is known as “power-cycling”, allowing your router to clear out its internal cache and start from scratch. It will further prompt it to re-select the least busy Wi-Fi channel, which is something that may change daily depending on your location.

    Check your device (PC or mobile) for viruses

    Regular scan of the memory of the computer or mobile device by antivirus programs prevents the risks of leakage of personal information and increases the speed of the Internet.

    Viruses significantly slow down the internet speed, using traffic for their needs.