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  • Bangladesh Government Shuts Down Mobile Internet Again Amidst Protests

Internet Shutdowns

Bangladesh

4 August, 2024 07:30 - 5 August, 2024 07:30 (1 day)

 
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.

Cause 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.

Data and Analysis

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.

Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic to close to zero on the morning on Sunday, August 4, on the Bangalink mobile network, and then resuming toward normal connectivity on the morning of August 5.
Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic to close to zero on the morning on Sunday, August 4, on the Grameen mobile network, and then resuming toward normal connectivity on the morning of August 5.
Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic to close to zero on the morning on Sunday, August 4, on the Robi mobile network, and then resuming toward normal connectivity on the morning of August 5.

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:

Chart from Google Transparency Report showing a drop in the normal pattern of traffic on August 4 into August 5, and then a restoration of normal patterns.

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.

Chart from IODA showing mild disruptions in connectivity in Bangladesh on August 4 followed by a full shutdown early on August 5 before a full restoration of connectivity.

Conversations

Economic Impact
USD $18,967,213
Shutdown Type
National
Pulse Analysis
In the News