The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revealed staggering financial losses caused by excessive VPN usage during internet disruptions.
According to an investigative report by the authority on the causes of internet disruptions, the country was losing approximately $10,000 every minute in lost productivity and strained internet infrastructure.
The report highlighted that bandwidth usage through VPNs spiked to an unprecedented 634Gbps in August 2024, before gradually decreasing to 378Gbps in November. By December, there were notable improvements in internet services, and VPN usage dropped slightly to 437Gbps.
"The country lost $10,000 every minute due to the increase of one terabyte per second," the report states.
The PTA linked the increasing usage of VPN to pressure and disruptions in internet infrastructure, which pushed users to bypass local Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). The report stated that 70% of the internet in Pakistan is provided through CDNs.
VPNs transfer traffic to international servers, avoiding 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 disruptions, WhatsApp temporarily relocated its servers to international locations, leading to connectivity issues for millions of users of the app in Pakistan. This action further aggravated the country's reliance on international internet routing, exposing the vulnerabilities of its local infrastructure.
The PTA's report emphasized the need for significant upgrades to Pakistan’s internet infrastructure, including increasing the capacity of submarine cables and enhancing local routing systems to reduce dependence on international servers.
It also stressed the importance of promoting local CDNs to balance bandwidth usage and mitigate the pressure caused by VPN traffic.
