7 things I've learned about using the Internet for online teaching & education work in Pakistan

I've been asked a lot about the details of using the internet in Chitral, rural Northern Pakistan.

It's taken a lot of testing and investigating, and this article outlines my findings.

The main stars of this article are:

• a mini phone with excellent signal and hotspot functionality,

• having access to Jazz data,

• & wifi with fibre optic cables.

For context my work involves:

Online 1-1 meetings and teaching, online workshops, online presentations, online keynotes, uploading podcasts, text, images and videos to social media and other platforms, sharing files and documents.

Here are the things I'll cover:

1. Having a strong internet device

2. Using Wifi where fibre optic cables are installed

3. Using an Ethernet cable connected to the fibre optic device.

4. Using fast.com to check internet speeds.

5. Having a generator backup for electricity

6. Knowing precisely what internet speeds I need

7. Knowing the hotspots in the area

Here are the details of each one:

1: Having a strong internet device

I learned that the device itself matters. For a long time I tried a 4G data dongle thing that is built solely as a portable internet router. It is awful! The Jazz one. It is always switching off, you can't see signal strength, the battery is poor, it overheats quickly and it takes ages to reboot. This one I do not recommend:

There are other stronger devices, but what works best for me is a tiny phone called the SOYES XS14 Pro.

Quite by chance, some time ago and for some unknown reason (because I didn't need another phone or gadget) I couldn't resist buying it:

And I am so glad I bought this thing on an intuitive whim in Dragonmart, Dubai.

This tiny thing has dual sim functionality, a torch flashlight, internet browsing, WhatsApp, and most crucially (which I discovered only when I arrived here) that it can be a powerful hotspot device too.

What makes it work so well for hotspotting as a main internet device is that it picks up on the signal without needing to always re-enter the hotspot or turn it on and off, which often happens with other devices (at least with iPhones). So to me, it acts like a wifi router.

It's a very strong device for hotspot working - also because it is a phone and therefore probably picks up signals well.

Whatever the science behind this, it works much better than any data dongle I've used and pretty much what I've run most days of full 12+ hours of internet and even online meetings and workshops using this phone as a wifi device.

The charge is excellent and can handle long hours of use. It overheats a bit so I need to use precautions to keep it cool especially in the summer. But... this is at the heart of the solution for internet in Pakistan for me.

Then there are other things, like…

2: Using Wifi where fibre optic cables are installed

Since coming here I've learned that any place with Fibre Optic cable just like the device in the photo here, will usually have stronger and more stable internet:

3: Using an Ethernet cable connected to the fibre optic device.

I have also found that using an ethernet cable stabilises the connection just a bit more - it doesn't make a massive difference IMO but for peace of mind and to make sure it's really stable this is something I've done.

4: Using fast.com to check internet speeds.

I must log on to this site about 50 times a day. Everywhere I go I seem to do a little check now. It must be my inner PTCL employee status that I voluntarily assumed once I came here.

5: Having a generator backup for electricity

When the wifi is fine and strong, but the electricity goes - it's a problem. So I go to use places in town that have fibre optic cables, sure. But then if the electricity goes they turn off anyway! So then something else I found i need to ensure is that places have a generator on standby that can be activated quickly if there's a power cut and I'm doing a live session - and this is if my Jazz + SOYES combo is not working.

6: Knowing precisely what internet speeds I need

I really have begun to check the internet readings like someone in Europe might check the weather.

In general, I've learned for my work I need at least 8MPBS to do any length of 1-1 video call that does not drop or zone out. Sometimes the Jazz speed will be weak. So I need to put into place using the Wifi with fibre optic cables.

I've learned I need about a good steady 20MBPS to do a video conference call with no drops or lags. That can be a call that lasts around 2-3 hours.

If it seems even a little weaker than usual, I'll put into action a plan b, plan c, and will even reschedule based on a few readings from fast.com.

7. Knowing the hotspots in the area

There are some mountainous areas in Chitral where the internet is atrocious. There are other spots where it is so so. And there are others where it is really quite good. I've worked out all of these areas for Lower Chitral - if you want me to share then do let me know.

So far so surprised

These are the core of the precautions I take for working online here in Pakistan, based out of Chitral. I have had it confirmed that wifi in other places like Peshawar never really goes above 8MBPS. So to get these speeds up here in mountainous Chitral has been quite a surprise. I thought it would be the other way round for working from cities.

I should end this roundup of learnings about internet in Pakistan by saying that the single biggest and most significant, annoying problem I have is when the internet - all internet across Pakistan - Jazz, fibre optics, wifi, goes down mysteriously, yet shows at full signal.

At such times... what to do?

It's anxiety inducing.

I typically close my eyes and send PTCL's engineers good vibes until it returns. And so far, it always does return.

#internet #pakistan #remoteworking #remoteteaching

P.S. It's ironic that just when I'd been feeling grateful for Pakistan having decent enough internet to get my work done, along comes a blip. The signal showed full, but the quality was terrible yesterday.

In these cases, any in-real-time online work is really challenging. I try to reschedule meetings to other days when this happens, and I try to do other work that doesn't depend on a live connection to get done, mostly creative stuff like writing, brainstorming, recording, planning and preparing.

I'd love to know if there's a solution to this final problem. Or how I can find out even what's going on when it becomes like this. I know for sure I'm not the only one.

Hope this was helpful! Evidently I geek out on this stuff, so please feel free to share your findings and experience too if you have any.