Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has responded to numerous complaints regarding packet loss. The regulator has checked with all internet service providers and has clarified that all services are functioning normally. Over the past week, Pakistani gamers have reported packet loss in games such as CS:GO, DotA and more and as per the complaints on Twitter, this issue is only being experienced in Pakistan.
Being a CSGO gamer myself, I was also previously experiencing a loss of 10~20% during my competitive games but it was recently resolved. However, a number of friends are getting around 50% to 60% packet loss which makes the game unplayable. On Twitter currently the hashtag #BanPTA is trending at number 3 with more than 16K tweets. Given below is the response by PTA:
With respect to social media posts about packet loss being experienced by some consumers while using gaming apps, it is clarified after checking from internet bandwidth providers that internet traffic including gaming Apps are currently working normal across Pakistan.
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) September 23, 2020
The regulator further said that no service degradation has been observed:
No service degradation has been experienced.
Attributing the packet loss to PTA without ascertaining factual position or clarifying with PTA is uncalled for and disappointing.— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) September 23, 2020
People have been claiming that PTA is trying to implement a VOIP blocking system that is affecting games across Pakistan. Following is a collection of tweets by users from Twitter regarding the issue:
https://twitter.com/Damilllll/status/1308817004032294912
A user claims that all international servers have been blocked:
PTA have banned all international servers (CSGO,CS 1.6,pubg,fortnite,free fire and all other games) Only Asian servers are available#banPTA #boycottPTA #Erdogan pic.twitter.com/PWR9cUtahC
— Ashar Baig🇵🇰 (@asharbaig733) September 23, 2020
This user has posted a picture from a statement by a local ISP:
Explain their claims please pic.twitter.com/QzuXqCCAX9
— AbdullahFaisal (@Abdullah_Cloak) September 23, 2020
Have you been experiencing packet loss? Do you think it is an issue with your ISP or with PTA? Let us know in the comments!
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