The government on Tuesday night started restoring broadband internet with restrictions on Facebook and WhatsApp to limit anti-state propaganda on social media.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were instructed to reconnect essential services like media, hospitals, airports, and export-oriented sectors.

"We’re restoring the internet in phases, prioritizing emergency services like media and hospitals. Export sectors and freelancers will follow. Broadband restoration will be limited," stated State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, on Tuesday.

Sources from the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPAB) indicated that telecom regulators met with International Internet Gateway (IIG) representatives to discuss internet restoration without social media platforms.

On Thursday, Palak mentioned that the government had suspended mobile internet to counter anti-state social media propaganda.

Authorities cited a fire-induced cable damage for the complete internet blackout since Thursday night. Operators reported that cables from various private internet exchanges at Khwaja Tower, near the Directorate of Disaster Management building, were damaged by fire.

Khwaja Tower houses around 85% of the country's broadband connections. However, users noted that while routers showed a green signal, indicating the internet was cut off from the gateway end, a red signal would appear if cables were damaged or disconnected.

Since Thursday, BTRC and ISPAB have attributed the blackout to cable damage.

Of the 141.28 million internet subscribers in Bangladesh, 127.84 million use mobile networks, which faced disruptions since Wednesday midnight.

BDST: 1233 HRS, JULY 24, 2024
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