Internet outage costing IT industry ‘$1m per hour’

According to the IT industry, the entire sector, including export companies, loses more than $1 million for every hour of internet outage or disturbance.

The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@sha) has raised serious concerns over frequent internet disruptions, warning of their impact on the country’s IT industry. 

Speaking on Tuesday, P@sha Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed highlighted that unreliable connectivity and slowdowns are driving companies to move operations abroad.

Syed revealed that even a one-hour internet outage could cost Pakistan $2.21 million, as per NetBlocks’ data, and erode foreign clients’ confidence in the sector. 

He cautioned that losing these clients to other countries would make recovery difficult.

P@sha has urged authorities to streamline Virtual Private Network (VPN) usage through registered service providers and adopt IT security measures used in the US and Europe to ensure smooth business operations. 

Currently, 55% of Pakistan’s IT exports go to the US, while 20% head to Europe.

The association has warned that continued disruptions could severely harm the country’s IT exports and called for immediate government action to protect the industry and its global reputation.