LAHORE – Overburdened internet servers owing to Cricket World Cup 2011’s online broadcasts are frustrating academics, whose research work relies mainly on online sources. Research scholars and students are finding it difficult to keep pace with their studies as many people watch cricket matches online, during the academic hours, which burdens the servers, disturbing the internet bandwidth. Research scholars said they were facing problems sometimes in opening a website, and their research work was getting affected.
Various websites which are offering live streaming for the Word Cup matches were damaging the internet bandwidth. Students have asked the authorities to ban these sites so that their internet speed may be restored. A student, working on a college assignment, told Pakistan Today that he was not getting the required internet speed. He said he would not be able to meet the paper’s deadline and said it was ‘sad’ that people were not using their television sets to watch cricket, which was affecting students.
Students and researchers are facing various types of difficulties in using the internet for their researches. They have complained that even their fellow students and other teachers were using computer labs to watch cricket. The departments where administration did not provide the facility of TV, this issue is more serious and students were found struggling with internet but most said that sites does not open or it takes a long time. Almost all public and private sector universities have developed computer labs at their respective varsities and have hired specific frequency of internet from different internet facilitators but owing to the extra user burden during the World Cup, the internet has jammed and stake holders are sufferings. Anum, a student from Lahore College from Women University (LCWU), said there were computer labs at various departments of LCWU but there were various issues as well.
She said female students take equal interest in watching matches but there was no facility of TV at departments and this is the actual reason that females use internet to get about the match. She said the college administration should provide a TV to watch cricket so that student who wanted to do research do get disturbed.
Farhan, a student from Punjab University, said there were around 30 thousands PU students and hundreds of teachers at PU departments, and a large number was using labs to see matches.
He said owing to the semester system at PU, students have to prepare assignments, term papers and thesis and they all were sufferings owing to the slow internet speed. Uzma, a PU boarder, said females residing in hostels were seriously facing this issue as authorities did not provided internet facility at hostels. Students were habitual in using internet at their respective departments for research but nowadays they were sufferings a lot.
She said that students were demanding from the varsity’s administration that they should construct computer labs at hostels so that girls can do their research at hostels, but administration was not accepting their demands. Tariq, a computer teacher, said, “Obviously when maximum students will use sites then pressure on internet will increase and whole system will get disturbed. Most of our internet service providers do not offer high speeds and when people start using sites like youtube and live streaming sites, it affects the whole system. It is not difficult for the PTA to ban these sites and facilitate students and research scholars in this regard.”
