KCCI president raises alarm over persistent slow internet in Karachi

August 15, 2024 (MLN): Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) President, Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh on Thursday expressed concerns over slow internet connectivity, stating that despite assurances of improvement after the installation of a safety firewall, the issue persists and is severely impacting business activities.

In a statement issued, President KCCI said that the Karachi Chamber has been receiving a large number of complaints from its member-firms who were finding it really hard to get connected with their clients across the country and also abroad via various social media platforms particularly WhatsApp since almost a week.

“We stayed in constant touch with various telecommunication service providers who assured that the connectivity would improve soon but the problem persists to date and it seems it’s going to take more time”, he added.

He said that due to slow internet connectivity and faulty social media apps, members of the business community were finding it almost impossible to get quotes and seek other documentations from their international vendors and buyers which was like to cause severe financial losses.

“At this point in time, it is very difficult to give a precise figure but keeping in view the unnecessary delays, the losses are going to be grave,” he further noted.

Iftikhar Sheikh said that freelancers in the IT sector, who have been working remotely for foreign companies from Pakistan, were also facing severe problems in completing their work on time because of unnecessary delays in restoring internet connectivity which requires immediate attention.

In the era of digitalization, Pakistan cannot afford such delays in restoring internet connectivity which must be restored at the earliest otherwise, such delays, in addition to causing financial losses, also send a very negative message to the rest of the world about Pakistan.

“Our freelancers and IT professionals, who are playing a major role in earning the desperately needed foreign exchange for the country, should not be deprived of basic needs for carrying out their work”, he said.

Moreover, he urged the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to look into this serious matter and expedite the process of fully restoring internet connectivity across Pakistan.

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