What happened
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) announced on Sunday that customers may face internet service degradation during the evenings from 11 to 18 May, The Nation reported.
In a post on X, the company said that maintenance activity was planned on one of its submarine cables to repair a fault by the International Cable Consortium.
“Due to this maintenance, which will begin from tomorrow (Monday) and which can last for seven days, customers may have to face disruption in their internet service,” PTCL stated.
Not the first such warning
Last month, the telecommunications company posted a similar notice on X, stating that maintenance activity was planned on one of its submarine cables to repair a fault by the consortium. That activity was to start on 14 April 2026 and potentially last until 20 April 2026, with PTCL telling customers to expect disruptions and expressing regret for the inconvenience.
Company background
PTCL posted a net loss of over Rs10.46 billion in FY2025 despite earning revenue of Rs168.80 billion, while its total assets stood at Rs485.23 billion, according to the finance ministry’s Central Monitoring Unit.
The company reported losses of Rs6.63 billion in FY2023-24, after a loss of Rs15.54 billion in 2022-23. It had recorded a profit of Rs28 billion in the year management control was sold to United Arab Emirates-based telecom operator Etisalat, but profitability declined in subsequent years and eventually turned negative.
Last month, it was reported that PTCL returned to profit following the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan. The company had also announced that it would formally launch Fifth Generation (5G) telecom services in May.
Why it matters
The advisory sets expectations for users who rely on PTCL’s fixed and broadband services during the window, and it points to the fragility of international connectivity when a single submarine-cable consortium carries out repairs. It comes as the company is promoting a return to profit and a 5G launch, making service reliability part of its commercial story.
What is still uncertain
PTCL did not specify which cable was affected, the scale of the expected degradation, or contingency routes. The account of the advisory and the company’s financials rests on The Nation’s report.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published material, not independent reporting. Source reviewed on 2026-05-11. The image is a contextual photograph and does not depict the May 2026 cable fault.
- The Nation — "PTCL warns of internet disruption from May 11-18"11 May 2026 · Reports PTCL's advisory, the submarine-cable maintenance window and the company's recent financial results.
