Connectivity status for Egypt

Fri Jan 28 01:10:56 UTC 2011

On Jan 27, 2011, at 6:47 PM, Danny O'Brien wrote:

> Around 2236 UCT, we lost all Internet connectivity with our contacts in
> Egypt, and I'm hearing reports of (in declining order of confirmability):
> 
> 1) Internet connectivity loss on major (broadband) ISPs
> 2) No SMS
> 4) Intermittent connectivity with smaller (dialup?) ISPs
> 5) No mobile service in major cities -- Cairo, Alexandria
> 
> The working assumption here is that the Egyptian government has made the
> decision to shut down all external, and perhaps internal electronic
> communication as a reaction to the ongoing protests in that country.
> 
> If anyone can provide more details as to what they're seeing, the extent,
> plus times and dates, it would be very useful. In moments like this there
> are often many unconfirmed rumors: I'm seeking concrete reliable
> confirmation which I can pass onto the press and those working to bring some
> communications back up (if you have a ham radio license, there is some very
> early work to provide emergency connectivity. Info at:
> http://pastebin.com/fHHBqZ7Q )

On twitter (follow the #jan25 and #jan28 hash tags), there are many reports of loss of internet connectivity in 
Egypt. Apparently cell phones and land lines are still working.

Of course, the assumption there is that this is connected to the large protests expected tomorrow in Egypt. 

Regards
Marshall

> 
> Thank you,
> 
> -- 
> dobrien at cpj.org
> Danny O'Brien, Committee to Protect Journalists
> gpg key: http://www.spesh.com/danny/crypto/dannyobrien-key20091106.txt
> 