NN Online Report:
During the recent student-led movement demanding the government’s resignation, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) executed a nationwide internet shutdown, reportedly following direct orders from then-State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, according to a report by Prothom Alo.
The internet shutdown, which occurred in mid-July, affected mobile and broadband services across the country, as part of the government’s effort to suppress the growing unrest. The shutdown orders were reportedly given over the phone by Palak, although government agencies have not officially acknowledged the directive.
On July 15, the BTRC’s Engineering and Operations Department initiated the first phase of the shutdown by suspending mobile internet services in the Shahbagh and Raju Sculpture areas of Dhaka University, as well as at several other major universities, including Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet.
The following day, on July 16, BTRC extended the suspension to 59 universities nationwide. The decision was reportedly approved by the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, under which the BTRC operates.
A BTRC commissioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the decision to suspend internet services was not made in consultation with the commission’s other members. Further escalation came on July 18 when BTRC was ordered to cease bandwidth provision, leading to a complete internet blackout across the country by 9 PM that evening. Zunaid Ahmed Palak is reported to have personally called the submarine cable company to enforce the shutdown.
The shutdown had severe consequences for communication across Bangladesh, with mobile internet services being restored only on July 28 and partial broadband restoration occurring on July 23. The NTMC, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, also played a key role by instructing mobile operators to block access to social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube starting July 17.
In a related development, Major General Ziaul Ahsan, the then-Director General of NTMC, was discharged from the army on August 6, following the events.
The shutdown and subsequent information blackout during the student movement have raised concerns about the government’s use of technology to control civil unrest and the lack of transparency in decision-making processes within key regulatory bodies.
