Egypt Gets Its Internet Back

By Marcus Yam
published

Welcome Back to the Internet, Egypt.

Things aren't nearly settled yet in Egypt, but Internet access has been restored after a five-day outage imposed by the local government.

This morning, access slowly came back. Oddly enough, Noor, the final ISP to shut down, was also late in restoring service.

This means that access to Facebook and Twitter are back, which means that those who wish to tweet can do so the "old fashioned way" and use the Internet instead of the telephone.

Source: Renesys

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
27 Comments Comment from the forums
  • rmmil978
    Well people are being shot, set on fire, being stoned to death, stabbed and whatnot, but at least you can update your status now as "Just got set on fire, fml"
    Reply
  • zak_mckraken
    It's a step in the right direction.

    Also, you're very late Tom's. I've read this on another site like, 20 minutes ago.
    /sarcasm intended for jerks who spend their entire day reading tech sites and posting crap
    Reply
  • rpmrush
    Ya agree with rmmil978's point. Internet access should be a worry that is far, far down on a list of priorities for Egyptians in their current state.
    Reply
  • retrig
    No, rpmrush, internet is one of the most valuable free-speech and organizing tools that people have access to. It is one of the most important things to protect.
    Reply
  • mike2100
    zak_mckrakenIt's a step in the right direction.Also, you're very late Tom's. I've read this on another site like, 20 minutes ago./sarcasm intended for jerks who spend their entire day reading tech sites and posting crap
    sad but true
    Reply
  • mikem_90
    That was quick, I would have figured they were doing this to "get a major beat down" on some people it wanted to without anyone releasing video of police brutality. Eh, maybe they just needed to take some of them down to install some hefty packet sniffing/filter tools.
    Reply
  • censoredsoft
    Personally, I'm happy I live in the USA. Internet is not yet a right here at is for other countries as I believe it should be, however, we have not yet taken the step into using public services as a way to control the general populace.

    The thought that a government can turn on and off a public service for the entire populace as a tool for control is obsurd. Next, they will shut off power, water, food.
    Reply
  • gtvr
    rmmil978Well people are being shot, set on fire, being stoned to death, stabbed and whatnot, but at least you can update your status now as "Just got set on fire, fml"
    You miss the point of what they are using the internet for as part of the protests, but props for the "FML" usage.
    Reply
  • retrig
    9270863 said:
    Personally, I'm happy I live in the USA. Internet is not yet a right here at is for other countries as I believe it should be, however, we have not yet taken the step into using public services as a way to control the general populace.

    The thought that a government can turn on and off a public service for the entire populace as a tool for control is obsurd. Next, they will shut off power, water, food.

    Google "Obama internet kill switch". Collapse is coming soon enough and we will eventually see it used in the name of "security".
    Reply
  • zachary k
    rmmil978Well people are being shot, set on fire, being stoned to death, stabbed and whatnot, but at least you can update your status now as "Just got set on fire, fml"it's not that bad over there. its a peaceful protest, or was until the pro-government mob started throwing rocks at the protesters.
    Reply