The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, and the President and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Thursday that the slow internet is badly affecting the economy.
He said that businesses are bearing the brunt of the slow internet, with the employment of many people hanging in the balance, underscoring the urgent need for a solution. Mian Zahid Hussain’s call for government intervention to resolve the slow internet issue is not just a suggestion; it’s a necessity. The impact on businesses and foreign exchange earnings demands immediate action.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Pakistan has become one of the countries with the slowest internet.
According to a report by a global organization, Pakistan’s internet speed ranks dismally at 100th out of 111 countries for mobile internet speed and 141st out of 155 countries for broadband speed, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Mian Zahid Hussain expressed concern that the country’s internet speed is slower than that of Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Ghana, and Bhutan. This slowness threatens billions of rupees of investment and millions of jobs.
The business leader noted that while the government announces plans to increase IT exports to five billion dollars, the internet is constantly slowing down and shutting down, affecting millions of users and those working and earning online.
He noted that this sector would only disappear if the slow internet speed and disruption did not end.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that many Pakistani companies are winding up their businesses and moving to the United Arab Emirates, where they can easily access the world’s fastest internet. Many foreign companies avoid doing business with Pakistani companies, hitting the expected growth in this promising sector.
The average mobile internet speed in the UAE is 542 megabits per second (Mbps), and the average broadband speed is more than 358 Mbps. In comparison, the average mobile internet speed in Pakistan is 20 Mbps, and the average broadband speed is less than 16 Mbps, which is regrettable.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that according to relevant experts, an hour of internet shutdown causes a loss of one million dollars to the export industry. Companies must take other measures to deal with these problems, such as increasing business costs while reducing competitiveness.
On the other hand, he said freelancers are also very worried, and e-commerce has been devastated because they face difficulties accessing social media apps and sending messages on WhatsApp.
Mian Zahid Hussain added that these internet problems cause significant harm to Pakistan’s IT industry and freelancers every few days. Now, the world has learned about Pakistan’s internet problems affecting their confidence. Hence, many foreign companies do not want to work with any Pakistani company.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that strict action should be taken against those who misuse the internet to propagate hatred of the country and its institutions.
