How Pakistan joins the world’s fastest undersea internet network

Dubai: Pakistan has taken a giant step in its digital transformation with the official onboarding of the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable, linking the country to one of the fastest and most advanced undersea networks in the world.

This addition marks Pakistan’s third international cable in just a year, dramatically increasing internet bandwidth and reinforcing the nation’s position in the global digital economy.

Pakistan’s Federal IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima announced the milestone on LinkedIn, describing it as a crucial move toward stronger global connectivity and expanded national internet capacity. The SEA-ME-WE 6 system follows the recent arrivals of the Africa-1 and 2Africa cables, representing one of the fastest expansions of Pakistan’s subsea infrastructure in recent years.

Bandwidth

Transworld Associates (TWA), the landing partner for SEA-ME-WE 6, will initially provide 4 terabits per second (Tbps) of additional capacity, raising Pakistan’s total bandwidth from 13.2 Tbps by nearly 40%. Stretching 21,700 kilometres, the cable connects Pakistan to countries across Asia and Europe, from Singapore to France, supporting high-volume data flows for businesses, cloud platforms, and digital services.

Major subseas systems

In parallel, TWA is developing a Tier III-certified data centre in Karachi, set to open in January 2026. This facility will directly connect to major subsea systems, including SMW-6, SMW-5, TW1, and 2Africa. It will be Pakistan’s first data centre designed for high-density AI workloads, offering secure, scalable hosting for both national and international operations. With Tier III certification, the centre ensures redundancy, high availability, and fault tolerance, strengthening Pakistan’s cloud infrastructure, enterprise networks, and content delivery ecosystem.