National shutdown
Internet Services, Mobile Internet Services
On June 22, 2019, Ethiopia experienced a nationwide internet shutdown that lasted approximately 4 days and 8 hours, ending on June 27. The disruption was triggered by the assassination of high-ranking military officials in Addis Ababa and the Amhara state president, which the government attributed to a failed coup attempt against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The shutdown affected all internet services through Ethiopia's sole commercial ISP, Ethio Telecom, resulting in a complete internet blackout across the country. This incident occurred within a broader context of internet censorship in the country, including the blocking of messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram that began in mid-June and continued after connectivity was restored.
- Total Duration 4 days, 10 hours
Ethiopia
- Population
- 135,472,051
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
- Land Locked Developing Country
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Other supporting information
Internet services went down following several high-profile political assassinations of top military officials in Addis Ababa and the president of Amhara state, the country’s second-largest federal region. The government claims the killings were part of a failed coup attempt against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The country’s only Internet service provider, Ethio Telecom, apologized in a tweet for the service interruption without providing an explanation, telling CNN that it would credit customers for services that were affected.
Data from both IODA and Google Transparency Report shows a drop in traffic from approximately 20:00 UTC on 22nd June 2019 that lasted until the 27th at 06:00 UTC.
A line graph from IODA showing Internet connectivity dropping across Ethiopia during the shutdown.
Data from Google Transparency Report for web search traffic in Ethiopia during the shutdown.