UPDATE: Bangladesh's Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has confirmed that he has assumed power following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has now fled the country. At the time of writing, data from NetBlocks indicates that internet connectivity has been restored and remains available in Bangladesh.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Bangladesh government ordered mobile operators to shut down 4G services again on Sunday – just days after services were switched back on – amid a fresh wave of deadly violence as protesters demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to various media reports, mobile operators said they received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services. Netblocks confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it detected a drop in internet connectivity in Bangladesh on Sunday that was mainly impacting mobile networks. By mid-day Monday, fixed broadband services were down as well.
Of the over 131 million internet users in Bangladesh at the end of 2023, the vast majority – 118.49 million – are mobile internet users.
Meanwhile, access to social media sites has also been blocked for all internet users by order of the government, after being briefly restored last Wednesday.
It’s the second time in less than a month that mobile internet services in Bangladesh have been shut down by the government. Bangladesh’s mobile internet went dark on July 17, followed by a complete internet blackout on July 18. Fixed broadband connectivity was fully restored on July 24, while mobile internet services came back online on July 28.
State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak has maintained that last month’s internet blackout was not ordered by the government, but the result of “planned sabotage” by protesters. However, the government has provided little evidence for this, and telecoms experts have questioned whether the damage described by Palak could result in a complete blackout.
The initial internet shutdown occurred after violence broke out amid student protests against a new government jobs quota system that allegedly favored the ruling Awami League party led by Hasina. At least 150 people were reportedly killed in clashes between students, pro-Awami League groups and police.
The latest shutdown comes amid more protests over the weekend in which tens of thousands of protesters demanded Hasina’s resignation, which led to more violent clashes between the same groups. According to media reports, at least 100 people were killed on Sunday.
