Tech Desk 
Dec 09, 2024
Freelancers in Pakistan have reported a 70% drop in work opportunities due to sluggish internet connections. The nationwide internet outage in Pakistan has severely affected different sectors, including businesses, with freelancers being hit the hardest, hindering their progress and facing challenges to maintain their productivity and meet deadlines.
The constant and overlong outages caused freelancers to miss deadlines, partner with clients, and face delays in project submissions, leading to account closure for some.
Complaints about slow internet speeds were lodged from multiple cities, disrupting daily operations with situations persisting to affect a substantial number of freelancers across the country.
If the sluggish internet connection continues, freelancers may begin migrating their clients to other countries including India and Bangladesh, where internet connectivity is more reliable.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) recently banned illegal VPNs that are increasingly being exploited by terrorists to perform illegal activities and facilitate illegal financial translations. However, PTA has announced that freelancers can now register their VPNs with phone numbers, offering some relief amid the struggles with poor internet speeds.
The internet slowdown all across the country has imposed major losses surpassing $1 million per hour on Pakistan’s IT industry, according to Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed.
Syed further revealed that 99% of the organisations reported service disruptions, while 90% of them experienced severe financial losses.
He further encouraged the government to release tax incentives to help the industry attain financial sustainability, attract investment and increase remittance inflows.
