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Today we proudly report a major milestone in Pakistan’s internet infrastructure with the recent landing of the South-East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) submarine cable. This development significantly strengthens Pakistan’s global digital connectivity by linking the country directly to critical global nodes between Singapore and France through a 19,200-kilometer high-capacity fiber-optic network. The launch of this cable marks a new era for Pakistan’s internet landscape by expanding bandwidth, improving speeds, and supporting the country’s growing digital economy at unprecedented levels.
New Internet Cable Lands in Pakistan: Transforming Digital Connectivity
The SEA-ME-WE 6 cable delivers a total capacity exceeding 100 terabits per second (Tbps), representing an enormous leap in data transmission capabilities. Pakistan’s allocated bandwidth on this cable is 13.2 Tbps, with 4 Tbps already activated. This upgrade effectively expands Pakistan’s international bandwidth, offering faster and more reliable connectivity. The cable supports vital digital services such as cloud computing, data centers, fintech solutions, e-commerce platforms, and streaming services. All these elements converge to boost Pakistan’s digital infrastructure, business environments, and service delivery on a global scale.
The advanced technology embedded in the SEA-ME-WE 6 system not only increases raw capacity but also enhances network resilience and diversity. It provides one of the lowest latency routes between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe, crucial for real-time applications and business operations requiring rapid data transfer. With new fiber pairs and more than double the capacity of previous SEA-ME-WE cables, this system ensures better fault protection, rapid scalability, and significantly lower costs for network operators.
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Expanding Pakistan’s Digital Backbone
This latest submarine cable complements Pakistan’s existing cable ecosystem, which includes six other major submarine internet cables currently serving the country. These existing cables — such as Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SMW4), India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE), South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 5 (SMW-5), Transworld Associates 1 (TWA-1), and Pakistan East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) — collectively provided Pakistan with about 13 Tbps of international bandwidth prior to the SEA-ME-WE 6 activation. The integration of SEA-ME-WE 6 significantly enhances Pakistan’s bandwidth capacity and provides a new level of redundancy and reliability in global internet connectivity.
Pakistan’s telecommunications companies, including Transworld Associates and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), have been active in landing other submarine cables recently. For instance, in early 2025, PTCL successfully landed the Africa-1 submarine cable at Karachi, a system that is expected to be fully operational by 2026. Similarly, Transworld Associates linked the Africa-2 cable to its Karachi landing station in late 2024, with full activation planned in 2025. These additions work in tandem with SEA-ME-WE 6 to expand Pakistan’s digital capacity.
The involvement of multiple international players in the SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium demonstrates the global significance of this project. Partners include Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Bharti Airtel, Dhiraagu, Djibouti Telecom, Mobily, Orange, Singtel, Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, and Telin, along with Pakistan’s Transworld Associates. This coordinated effort ensures a diversified and secure global internet backbone for Pakistan and connected regions.
Impact on Pakistan’s Digital Economy and Future Outlook
We recognize that the arrival of the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable is more than a technical upgrade; it is a catalyst for digital transformation in Pakistan. Increasing bandwidth capacity and reducing latency will help businesses scale digital operations, improve e-commerce user experiences, and support emerging fintech solutions. It will encourage data center growth, cloud service adoption, and innovative online platforms, positioning Pakistan as a competitive player in the global digital economy.
Furthermore, the cable’s advanced design supports rapid scalability and fault protection, meaning Pakistan can handle future internet traffic spikes more efficiently and recover from network issues faster. This reliability is crucial for maintaining continuous digital services in critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, education, and government services.
The government’s active role in supporting these infrastructure projects, combined with the private sector’s engagement, reflects a shared vision for a connected, digitally empowered Pakistan. Alongside expanding bandwidth, Pakistan is also enhancing mobile internet spectrum allocation to facilitate smoother 5G rollouts, ensuring the benefits of high-speed broadband reach more users nationwide.
In conclusion, the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable landing heralds a new chapter of connectivity excellence in Pakistan. Squaredtech views this development as a strategic asset that will boost economic growth, enhance digital inclusion, and provide a stable foundation for emerging technologies.
The future landscape of Pakistan’s internet connectivity promises to be faster, more reliable, and equipped to support an expanding digital society thanks to projects like the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable.
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