Mobile internet services to be restored from 3 pm today: Palak

Mobile internet services to be restored from 3 pm today: Palak

Dhaka, July  28 - Mobile internet connections will be restored in the country from 3pm today, said State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Sunday.

The state minister came up with the announcement while briefing the media following a meeting with Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.

Palak said, all subscribers will get 5 GB internet for 3 days for free.

Regarding access to social medial platforms, the state minister said, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent letters to authorities of social media platforms including Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube.

“Their representatives have to come to Dhaka by July 31 for  giving   explanations. Then decision will be taken after discussing with them,” he added.

Following a complete internet blackout for five days, the government restored only broadband internet connections from Tuesday night (July 23) on a priority basis.

In the wake of violence amid students’ demonstrations for quota reform, the government halted mobile internet services in the morning on July 18 and at 9pm on the same day broadband internet services were suspended, disconnecting Bangladesh with the rest of the world online and disrupting various services.

On Saturday, Palak claimed that internet was not intentionally shut down but was disrupted due to the burning of three data centers and hundreds of kilometers of cables.

These incidents caused a loss of Tk500 crore in the telecom sector alone and a total loss of hundreds of crores of taka, he added.

He also said that there were attacks at 17 locations in Dhaka Division. “In Mohakhali, three data centers housed 18 IIG systems, which host 70% of the ISP servers, causing the internet disruption. We did not intentionally shut down the internet.”

Palak said, these while addressing an event held at Agargaon in the capital marking Sajeeb Wazed Joy's 54th birthday.-UNB