Pakistan: Online tools debunk government’s claims of uninterrupted internet services
Pakistan: The government’s assertions of uninterrupted internet services have been contested by at least two online resources, which have also documented the many problems internet users had while attempting to access social media platforms.
Internet users were either unable to access or had restricted access to a number of social media platforms on Sunday, Dawn said, based on data analyzed by these technologies, which check network stability and monitor internet outages in real time.
Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA), a technology created by the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Internet Intelligence Lab, reports that these internet outages persisted for hours.
The network was steady at the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) level all day long, according to the technology that monitors internet connection and identifies outages.
The reliability of BGP routes, which are distinct IDs allocated to major internet providers, suggests that no widespread outage has been detected, according to a network expert who spoke to Dawn.
According to the expert, “Any disruption in BGP stability indicates a network-wide issue that usually occurs as a result of a submarine cable fault or fire at a data center, etc.”
According to IODA, internet outages are determined by traffic to Google Services, even with a steady network. Traffic to well-known websites and services is used by online programs that monitor internet interruption to assess regional internet reliability.
IODA evaluates any anomaly in internet access by using traffic from a geographic place that is directed to Google services, such as the search engine, YouTube, Gmail, etc.
Traffic from Pakistan to Google services was disrupted between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, followed by 1:30 p.m. until 6 p.m., according to IODA. The expert told Dawn that traffic to Google addresses is a sign of widespread internet use.
The speaker said, “For example, if daily an x amount of traffic comes to Google addresses from Pakistan and today it is not coming, this is indicative of a restriction [of the internet].” IODA data revealed “abnormally restricted” internet access between the two time intervals, the analyst said.
Throughout the day, Downdetector, which based its evaluation on user complaints, also noted disruptions on WhatsApp. According to Dawn, roughly 52% of users expressed dissatisfaction with difficulties sending messages, 27% with voice notes, and 21% with the application’s general usability.
Throughout the day, internet users in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and other Pakistani cities reported experiencing problems with Instagram and TikTok.
