In a significant development, Pakistan has inked a deal with China to route the East Asian nation’s Internet traffic through Pakistan, aiming to transform it into a regional connectivity hub and generate approximately $400 million annually, stated the IT minister on Monday.
Dr. Umar Saif revealed this milestone as he inaugurated the Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE) in Islamabad, powered by DE-CIX, a carrier- and data-center-neutral Internet Exchange operator with global operations across Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.
Saif highlighted four major achievements in collaboration with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), DE-CIX, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China Mobile, and PEACE Cable, a submarine cable project aimed at facilitating data transmission between Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Firstly, an agreement has been reached for China to route its Internet traffic through Pakistan, positioning Pakistan as a regional connectivity hub.
Secondly, UAE-based telecommunications company Etisalat has established Pakistan’s first carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and data center to bolster Internet connectivity reliability.
Thirdly, PTCL will collaborate with DE-CIX to manage operations of the new data center, enabling Pakistan to host super-scaling cloud services and serve as a local content hub for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix.
Lastly, Pakistan’s Internet users can now access services locally, paving the way for Pakistan to become a hub of regional connectivity.
Saif emphasized that Pakistan boasts a substantial digital market with a larger Internet user base than Italy’s population. With advancements in fiber connectivity and multiple submarine cables landing in Karachi, the PTCL data center managed by DE-CIX holds promising prospects for localized content hosting.
Content cached and routed from Pakistan could seamlessly reach other markets, positioning Pakistan as a regional digital connectivity hub and generating annual revenues ranging from $200-400 million through transit traffic to significantly contribute to the economy.
PTCL, owned and managed by Etisalat, is Pakistan’s largest integrated Information Communication Technology (ICT) company, while DE-CIX is the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator.
The Pakistan Internet Exchange, operated by DE-CIX under the DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) model and located in the PTCL data center in Karachi, offers local peering as well as remote access to DE-CIX Frankfurt (Germany).
Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer at PTCL & Ufone 4G, emphasized that PTCL’s nationwide network and DE-CIX’s interconnection infrastructure would enhance the Internet experience for customers and facilitate international platforms’ local content hosting.
Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, highlighted Pakistan’s rapid Internet usage growth and the necessity of local interconnection for the country’s economic potential.
The Pakistan Internet Exchange, inspired by the success of UAE-IX in Dubai, is poised to become a vital international Internet hub.