It has now become a matter of serious concern. It is up, predicting a nationwide internet slowdown across Pakistan, and has given rise to a fall in work opportunities for the freelancing sector of Pakistan by almost 70%. Digital marketers are also hampered in their efforts because of slow internet speeds that cause deadlines to be missed and accounts closed.
Experts forewarned that the conditions continued into freelancing clients, shifting to other countries, like Bangladesh and India. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has allowed freelancers to register their VPNs with phone numbers to reduce some problems, but it has yet to prove if it will be worth it.
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The Information Technology sector has been in nearly the same boat; loss after loss is being counted in terms of more than $1 million for every hour of internet shutdown. Sajjad Mustafa Syed, the chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said, “99% of the companies reported a service interruption,” and “90% of companies are facing losses because of this”. He urged tax incentives to prosper the industry by attracting investment and enhancing remittances.