Coronavirus Pandemic: Internet usage rises by 15% in the country, PTA

Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) on Thursday issued a statement saying that the country’s internet usage has risen by 15% as people restricted to their homes due to the lockdown imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus

The telecom regulatory body said “a net increase of around 15% in internet usage was witnessed since last week” — based on data from telecom operators.

“The increase has been observed due to increased online activities by educational institutions and businesses and, ‘work from home’ policy adopted by individuals and organizations,” it said.

“There is sufficient internet capacity available in the country to meet the growing demands of the future,” said the authority. “PTA has been closely monitoring the internet usage patterns so as to ensure that fast & efficient telecom services remain available to the consumers in this difficult time.”

The telecommunications authority further revealed that mobile phone companies have sent as many as 13 million awareness messages about Coronavirus to their subscribers in a single day in different languages.

“Since 19 March, more than 366 million awareness msgs have been sent on PTA’s directions in English, Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi & Pashto,” PTA noted.

PTA also mentioned that the coronavirus awareness message, which has replaced the traditional tone, was as per its directives to the phone companies.