Past

National shutdown

Local businesses that rely on connectivity, such as tour operators, were either forced to close, or use VPN to connect to the Internet and access messaging platforms. Some resorted to using business centers at luxury hotels, which appear to still have Internet access. Popular taxi service ZayRide was also affected, leaving its drivers with no work for a week. Press reports, and a source speaking to TechCrunch on background, said Ethiopia’s internet stoppage was done to stop students from cheating on national exams, which took place this week.  
  • Total Duration 8 days

Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia

Population
132,059,767
UN Classification
  • Least Developed Country
  • Land Locked Developing Country

Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free

View full country profile for Ethiopia

Local impact

Local businesses that rely on connectivity, such as tour operators, were either forced to close, or use VPN to connect to the Internet and access messaging platforms. Some resorted to using business centers at luxury hotels, which appear to still have Internet access. Popular taxi service ZayRide was also affected, leaving its drivers with no work for a week. Press reports, and a source speaking to TechCrunch on background, said Ethiopia’s internet stoppage was done to stop students from cheating on national exams, which took place this week.  

Other supporting information

The country’s sole Internet provider, Ethio Telecom, cut Internet access on June 10, restoring it with an apology on June 18 but without providing details of the cause of the interruption. Press reports allege that the blackout was a measure to prevent secondary students cheating during the annual national examinations.

Connectivity was partially restored at different times but remained largely off during this period.  Whatsapp and Telegram, popular messaging platforms among young Ethiopians, were both inaccessible. Similar shutdowns have happened in 2016 and 2017 during national exams.

This shutdown is corroborated by data from several organizations:

ORACLE INTERNET INTELLIGENCE

Oracle Internet Intelligence Country Statistics graph for Ethiopia, June 9-15, 2019
Oracle Internet Intelligence Traffic Shifts graph for AS24757 (Ethio Telecom), June 9-15, 2019

CAIDA IODA

CAIDA IODA graph for Ethiopia, June 9-15, 2019
CAIDA IODA graph for AS24757 (Ethio Telecom), June 9-15, 2019

GOOGLE TRANSPARENCY REPORT

Google Transparency Report Web search traffic graph for Ethiopia, June 9-15, 2019