Pakistan gets ultra-fast internet boost with new submarine cable connection

Pakistan gets ultra-fast internet boost with new submarine cable connection

November, 23 2025

(Web Desk): Pakistan has achieved a major milestone in global digital connectivity with the activation of the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable system. This marks the third international cable deployment for the country within a single year, significantly boosting national bandwidth.

Federal IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima confirmed the development, highlighting it as a crucial step for improving nationwide connectivity. This achievement, following the earlier additions of the Africa-1 and 2Africa cables, represents one of the fastest expansions of subsea networks in Pakistan's history.

Transworld Associates (TWA), the official landing partner for SEA-ME-WE 6, immediately injected 4 terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity into the national network. This delivers a substantial $40\%$ increase over Pakistan’s existing bandwidth of $13.2$ Tbps.

The SEA-ME-WE 6 system is a 19,200-kilometer high-capacity fiber network that connects Pakistan to countries from Singapore to France, offering a low-latency route across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. As one of the world's most advanced cables, it has a minimum design capacity of $132$ Tbps across 10 fiber pairs.

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The new system features enhanced capacity and resilience compared to its predecessors, improving fault protection and redundancy across high-traffic Asia-Europe routes. This deployment, which involves a consortium of 12 international telecom partners, allocates a total of $13.2$ Tbps capacity to Pakistan. The increased bandwidth is expected to support essential digital services, including cloud computing, data centers, fintech operations, e-commerce, and high-demand streaming platforms.

Future Infrastructure Development

In parallel, TWA is developing a Tier III-certified data center in Karachi, scheduled to open in January 2026. This facility will be directly linked to major subsea systems, including SMW-6, SMW-5, TW1, and 2Africa.

The new data center is designed to be Pakistan's first capable of supporting high-density AI workloads, offering secure and scalable hosting for both domestic and international businesses. Its Tier III certification guarantees high redundancy and fault tolerance, positioning it as a key pillar for Pakistan's evolving AI and digital ecosystem.