Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

Post by majjaa » Tue, Aug 11, 2020, 5:22 PM UTC

jammucoder wrote: post #42

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #29

this is nothing. shameless plug. I am a kashmiri typing this from 2G internet which apprently is the only acceptable thing for the indian government to allow me. 4G access has been stopped since 5 AUGUST 2019. a freaking year has passed and no high speed internet. I didnt have 2G for like 7 months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revocation_of_the_special_stat... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Kashmir#Cens…

I'm typing this from Jammu. Since 370 abrogation last year, number of terror incidents in J&K is down by 40%. Every story has two sides. While I hope the govt brings back full 4G connectivity soon, I am grateful to them for taking the terror situation seriously.

Post by gpm » Tue, Aug 11, 2020, 5:23 PM UTC

enkid wrote: post #73

gpm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* International treaties and national laws prohibit sending radio signals into the country if the countries government doesn't give you permission. Space ISPs are very unlikely to do so without permission except at the behest of their home government.

Can you point to a specific treaty? Radio Free Europe has been doing it for decades. Photons don't stop at national borders, and the footprint of a satellite is likely going to mean that Belarus will have transmissions from satellites, even if no one wants that to happen.

Post by evan_ » Tue, Aug 11, 2020, 5:27 PM UTC

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #41

gruez wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a tyrannical government is willing to cut off internet access, what makes you think they won't also ban ham radio transmissions (enforcing via violent means) as well?

Ham is harder. Internet comes (mostly) through cables; those cables at some points are subject to the control of the government, and can be either technologically filtered or physically disrupted. (Satellite internet is clearly the exception.) But ham radio is like satellite internet - it's hard to cut off. You can ban it, as you say, but then you have to actually enforce the ban - either by jamming, or by finding si…

Post by SergeAx » Tue, Aug 11, 2020, 5:35 PM UTC

Post by baybal2 » Tue, Aug 11, 2020, 5:36 PM UTC

fuoqi wrote: post #65

obogobo wrote: post #7

wondering what / if any impact "the space internet" (or like networks) will have on national government's ability to disrupt comms. or if it just shifts the goalposts to a different network operator

Unfortunately it's very easy for governments to make ownership of unblockable receivers illegal and to simply jam appropriate wavelengths on top of that. Just look at how radio was regulated after its invention. Usually there is no proper technical solution for a political problem.