The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has disclosed significant revenue losses resulting from rampant VPN utilisation during internet outages.

An investigative report by the authority on internet disruptions indicates that the country was incurring a loss of nearly $10,000 per minute due to diminished production and stressed internet infrastructure.

The analysis said that bandwidth utilisation via VPNs surged to an unprecedented 634 Gbps in August 2024, thereafter declining to 378 Gbps by November. By December, significant enhancements in internet services were observed, resulting in a modest decrease in VPN usage to 437 Gbps.

The analysis indicates that the country incurred a loss of $10,000 every minute as a result of an increase of one terabyte per second.

The PTA attributed the rising utilisation of VPNs to stress and disturbances in internet infrastructure, compelling users to circumvent local Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). The survey said that 70% of internet access in Pakistan is facilitated by CDNs.

VPNs route traffic across international servers, circumventing local CDNs. This redirection overwhelmed global submarine cables, particularly during peak usage hours, and caused additional strain on the system, as the submarine is incapable of handling the load during rush hours.

During the internet interruptions, WhatsApp temporarily transferred its servers to international locations, resulting in connectivity concerns for millions of users in Pakistan. This action intensified the nation’s dependence on foreign internet routing, revealing the weaknesses of its domestic infrastructure.

The PTA’s research highlighted the necessity for substantial improvements to Pakistan’s internet infrastructure, including augmenting the capacity of underwater cables and refining local routing systems to diminish reliance on overseas servers.

It emphasised the need of advancing local CDNs to equilibrate bandwidth utilisation and alleviate the strain induced by VPN traffic.