Amidst escalating violence surrounding the quota reform movement, mobile internet services and social media access have been disrupted for millions of users across Bangladesh.

Saiful Islam, a businessman in Dhaka told Bangla Outlook that he couldn’t access his mobile internet since morning. “I also can’t access my facebook through mobile data.”

The 4G network, which is the primary means of accessing the internet on mobile devices in the country, has been shut down since July 16, particularly at universities.

However, basic voice calls remain available through the 2G network. This disruption affects a significant portion of the over 127.8 million mobile subscribers in the country.

A senior executive from a major mobile operator, speaking anonymously, clarified that the restriction on 4G services and social media access was imposed by the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), not the mobile operators themselves.

Another telecom representative, requesting anonymity, revealed that the NTMC has direct access to their systems and independently switched the network to 2G nationwide.

This marks a departure from their usual practice of instructing operators on specific actions.

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