National shutdown
Sudan’s military cut fixed and mobile Internet connectivity on 25 October 2021, after it seized power just ahead of the country’s general elections. Sudan was under a transitional authority after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and the military following its takeover declared a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, in opposition to the coup. On 9 November, Khartoum’s District Court ordered ISPs to restore Internet access, but services only began to return after 25 days of blackout, on 18 November, prolonged by the insistence of the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority for the shutdown to remain in place. Zain and MTN were the first to come back online, followed by Sudatel and later by other providers. Al Jazeera Arabic reported that the Internet blackout caused economic losses amounting to tens of millions of dollars per day, with telecommunications companies alone losing USD 6 million daily. Citizens resorted to roaming services on international SIM cards sent from overseas to get in touch with their loved ones.
- Total Duration 45 days, 9 hours
Sudan
- Population
- 50,042,791
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Local impact
Sudan’s military cut fixed and mobile Internet connectivity on 25 October 2021, after it seized power just ahead of the country’s general elections. Sudan was under a transitional authority after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and the military following its takeover declared a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, in opposition to the coup. On 9 November, Khartoum’s District Court ordered ISPs to restore Internet access, but services only began to return after 25 days of blackout, on 18 November, prolonged by the insistence of the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority for the shutdown to remain in place. Zain and MTN were the first to come back online, followed by Sudatel and later by other providers. Al Jazeera Arabic reported that the Internet blackout caused economic losses amounting to tens of millions of dollars per day, with telecommunications companies alone losing USD 6 million daily. Citizens resorted to roaming services on international SIM cards sent from overseas to get in touch with their loved ones.
Other supporting information
Access to Internet services was limited in Sudan starting from early hours of 25 October 2021. Access was partially restored for four hours the next day before the country went back to the shadows of the global network till the connection was restored midday 18th of November. There were reports that people could still access locally provided services like banking applications, apparently through the Sudan IXP.
CAIDA IODA
Google Transparency Report
Cloudflare Radar
