National shutdown
For approximately 24 hours, Internet access on mobile providers was shutdown, with multiple media reports indicating this shutdown was at the request of the government of Bangladesh amidst renewed protests against the current government. On Monday, 5 August, reports emerged that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh had resigned and fled the country. As part of that, formation of an interim government was announced and Internet access began to be restored. Measurements as of 05 August at 13:00 UTC indicate that Internet connectivity is restored across the country. Data from Cloudflare Radar, IODA, and Google's Transparency Report showed the drop in traffic from mobile networks beginning around 07:30 am UTC on 4 August. This followed a government-mandated Internet shutdown for five days starting on July 18 and an ongoing blocking of various online services since July 16. On Monday, 5 August, there was a complete drop in all Internet connectivity visible in Google and IODA measurements, from approximately 4:30 - 7:30 UTC. After that, data shows a gradual restoration of Internet connectivity across all networks.
- Total Duration 1 day
Bangladesh
- Population
- 171,466,990
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Partly Free
Local impact
For approximately 24 hours, Internet access on mobile providers was shutdown, with multiple media reports indicating this shutdown was at the request of the government of Bangladesh amidst renewed protests against the current government. On Monday, 5 August, reports emerged that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh had resigned and fled the country. As part of that, formation of an interim government was announced and Internet access began to be restored. Measurements as of 05 August at 13:00 UTC indicate that Internet connectivity is restored across the country. Data from Cloudflare Radar, IODA, and Google's Transparency Report showed the drop in traffic from mobile networks beginning around 07:30 am UTC on 4 August. This followed a government-mandated Internet shutdown for five days starting on July 18 and an ongoing blocking of various online services since July 16. On Monday, 5 August, there was a complete drop in all Internet connectivity visible in Google and IODA measurements, from approximately 4:30 - 7:30 UTC. After that, data shows a gradual restoration of Internet connectivity across all networks.
Related documentation
We have not yet documented an official statement from the government of Bangladesh, however multiple media articles report that mobile telecom operators stated that the government required them to shut down access.
Other supporting information
Cloudflare Radar shows the near-total drop in Internet traffic coming from mobile providers Bangalink, Grameen Phone, and Robi beginning on 4 August between around 7:30 - 8:30 UTC. Subsequent measurements show a return of traffic beginning around 07:30 UTC on 5 August 2024.
Google's Transparency Report shows a drop in the usual level of search traffic coming from within Bangladesh and then later a return to the more usual pattern:
The Internet Outage Detection & Analysis (IODA) system shows that overall connectivity into Bangladesh continued on 4 August, but the active probing of systems inside Bangladesh showed decreased connectivity. IODA then clearly shows the full outage on 5 August followed by the restoration of connectivity overall.
