Pakistan, China ink agreement to redirect Internet traffic anticipating annual revenue of US $400 million

Karachi: In a significant development, Pakistan has inked an agreement with China to redirect the East Asian country’s Internet traffic through Pakistan, transforming it into a regional connectivity hub and anticipating annual revenue of approximately US $400 million, Information Technology Minister Dr Umar Saif said.

The Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE), inaugurated in Islamabad, powered by DE-CIX, a global Internet Exchanges operator, has achieved several milestones in collaboration with key entities such as PTCL, PTA, DE-CIX, SCO, China Mobile, and PEACE Cable, according to an official statement.

Dr Saif outlined four major achievements: firstly, an agreement with China to route their Internet traffic through Pakistan, positioning the nation as a regional connectivity hub. Secondly, UAE’s Etisalat establishing Pakistan’s first carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and data center to enhance Internet connectivity reliability. Thirdly, PTCL collaborating with DE-CIX to operate the new data center, enabling Pakistan to host super-scaling cloud services and serve as a local content hub for platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix. Lastly, Dr Saif emphasized that Pakistan’s Internet users can now access services locally, solidifying the country’s role as a hub of regional connectivity.

Dr Saif highlighted Pakistan’s substantial digital market with an Internet user base surpassing Italy’s population. With increased fiber connectivity and multiple submarine cables, the collaboration with DE-CIX is expected to open exciting opportunities for localized content hosting. The PTCL data center, managed by DE-CIX, aims to position Pakistan as a regional digital connectivity hub, potentially generating annual revenues ranging from US $200-400 million through transit traffic.

PTCL, owned by Etisalat, is Pakistan’s largest integrated ICT company, and DE-CIX is the world’s leading Internet Exchange operator. The Pakistan Internet Exchange, located in the PTCL data center in Karachi, operates under DE-CIX’s as-a-Service model and offers both local peering and remote access to DE-CIX Frankfurt in Germany.

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer at PTCL & Ufone 4G, highlighted the collaborative efforts to enhance the Internet experience for customers and facilitate the local hosting of international content.

Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, emphasized the crucial role of the Pakistan Internet Exchange in unlocking the economic potential of robust Internet connectivity for the country, drawing parallels with the success of UAE-IX in Dubai.