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Global Internet Access Turmoil: Outages, Crackdowns & New Lifelines (Sept 4-5, 2025)

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Global Internet Access Turmoil: Outages, Crackdowns & New Lifelines (Sept 4–5, 2025)
  • Massive outages hit millions: A nationwide Verizon wireless blackout on Aug 30 left U.S. mobile users with “SOS only” emergency service for hours ts2.tech ts2.tech. And on Sept 4, Google services (Search, YouTube, etc.) went down across Turkey and parts of Europe for about an hour, prompting a Turkish government inquiry cybernews.com cybernews.com. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province remains under a weeks-long mobile internet shutdown and Iraq imposed daily internet blackouts during national exams, together keeping tens of millions offline ts2.tech ts2.tech.
  • Authoritarian internet crackdown: Russia’s new laws (effective Sept 1) now fine citizens for merely searching banned “extremist” content – from opposition materials to pro-LGBTQ sites – even via VPN ts2.tech. The Kremlin also banned VPN advertising, forced all new smartphones to pre-install a state-run messenger, and threatened to ban WhatsApp as an “extremist” Meta product ts2.tech ts2.tech. “The main task…is to create fear…to increase self-censorship” among users, a digital rights advocate warned ts2.tech.
  • Satellite internet surge: SpaceX launched 24 new Starlink satellites on Aug 29 – its fourth launch in a month – bolstering broadband coverage in high latitudes like Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia ts2.tech. Rival Amazon Project Kuiper is close behind: after deploying its first 27 satellites in April, Amazon plans another launch on Sept 25 and aims to begin beta satellite service by late 2025 ts2.tech ts2.tech. In Bangladesh, carrier Robi Axiata struck a deal to resell SpaceX’s Starlink service – a first for the country – to bring high-speed internet to remote regions via satellite today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd.
  • New undersea cables & security: Kenya’s Safaricom (with Meta’s backing) unveiled Daraja, a 4,100 km subsea fiber-optic cable linking Mombasa to Muscat, Oman, to boost East African bandwidth at a cost of $23 million ts2.tech. “Until now Safaricom has relied on third-party undersea systems… by co-owning a cable, it secures greater independence and can expand capacity on demand,” the company noted of the strategic move ts2.tech. Further north, Djibouti Telecom announced a 3,300 km extension of its DARE1 cable down the East African coast – adding new landing points in Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa – with construction from 2026 to go live by 2028 ts2.tech developingtelecoms.com. In the U.S., regulators moved to secure these critical “internet arteries”: the FCC voted to ban Chinese components in new U.S.-linked undersea cables and streamline permits for vetted operators ts2.tech. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, underscoring the push to guard the 400+ global subsea cables carrying 99% of international data reuters.com.
  • 5G rollouts on the horizon: After years of delay, Pakistan’s government finally approved its first 5G spectrum auction to be completed by December 2025 ts2.tech. Officials have identified 606 MHz of spectrum (including key 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz mid-band frequencies) for bidding, despite some bands tied up in litigation brecorder.com. Neighboring Turkey also announced a long-awaited 5G tender set for Oct 16, 2025, with plans for carriers to launch 5G service by April 1, 2026 reuters.com. The auction will offer 11 frequency blocks (700 MHz and 3.5 GHz) valued at a minimum $2.1 billion total reuters.com – finally putting Turkey on the 5G map (it currently maxes out at 4.5G LTE-A).
  • Big telecom-tech alliances: In India, Reliance Jio (the top mobile operator) and Meta (Facebook’s parent) unveiled a ₹855 crore ($100 million) joint venture to develop AI-powered digital services on Jio’s network techcrunch.com. The new 70/30 partnership will leverage Meta’s Llama AI models to offer enterprise tools – from chatbots to workflow automation – at scale on Jio’s infrastructure techcrunch.com techcrunch.com. “Through this joint venture, we’re putting Meta’s Llama models into real-world use,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of the effort techcrunch.com. And in Africa, MTN South Africa is taking an innovative route to broaden 4G access: it will sell 1.2 million ultra-budget smartphones for just 99 rand ($5) to its 2G/3G customers, ensuring they’re not left behind as legacy networks shut down reuters.com reuters.com. “As the country transitions to 4G and 5G, it is vital that we take proactive steps to connect as many South Africans as possible,” affirmed MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi, vowing that “no one is left behind in the digital era.” reuters.com
  • Grassroots connectivity and inclusion: From national programs to local projects, recent days saw a flurry of initiatives to bridge digital gaps. In the Philippines, Smart Communications launched new plug-and-play 5G Home WiFi kits on Sept 4 – a wireless broadband solution for students, remote workers and entrepreneurs in areas without fiber, sold with prepaid unlimited data plans and no contracts backendnews.net backendnews.net. In New York City, officials announced a “Liberty Link” pilot to wire up 35 public housing developments in the Bronx and Harlem with free high-speed Wi-Fi, reaching roughly 2,200 low-income households by the end of 2025 ts2.tech. And across Africa, Asia and Latin America, community-led networks are on the rise: the Internet Society Foundation just funded nine grassroots projects – from indigenous women building mesh networks in the Amazon to solar-powered Wi-Fi hubs in rural Senegal – to connect underserved communities ts2.tech. All these efforts underscore a growing resolve to expand access at every level.
  • One-third of humanity still offline: A new U.N. report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sounds the alarm that ~2.6 billion people (32% of the world) remain without internet access ts2.tech. Achieving universal connectivity by 2030 will require an estimated $2.6–2.8 trillion investment, the ITU says ts2.tech itu.int. The agency frames internet access as an urgent global priority for development – “digital connectivity means creating opportunities for education, jobs, and access to essential services” and should be seen as “an investment in human potential, not just a cost,” stressed ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin itu.int. So far, governments, tech companies and NGOs have pledged about $51 billion toward expanding connectivity (just over half of the ITU’s $100 billion interim target by 2026) ts2.tech. From mega-projects like satellites and undersea cables to low-cost smartphones and community Wi-Fi, the first week of September 2025 highlights both the immense challenges and the innovative strides in the race to connect the unconnected.

Major Outages and Internet Shutdowns

Widespread outages disrupted internet access across multiple regions in recent days. In the United States, a major Verizon network failure on August 30 underscored the fragility of even advanced telecom systems ts2.tech. Starting around midday on the 30th, Verizon wireless customers from California to New York suddenly found their phones showing “SOS only” – meaning no cellular service except emergency calls ts2.tech. By mid-afternoon outage reports spiked above 23,000 as users complained of being unable to make calls or use mobile data ts2.tech. Verizon acknowledged a software issue in its 4G/5G core network and scrambled engineers to fix it ts2.tech. Service was largely restored by that night after roughly 9 hours of downtime ts2.tech. It was Verizon’s third nationwide outage of 2025, prompting renewed debate over telecom reliability ts2.tech ts2.tech. Even customers on other carriers felt side effects – some apps like Instagram and Twitter slowed down, apparently because they rely on Verizon routes for certain traffic, illustrating the ripple effects a major network failure can have ts2.tech. The incident has led U.S. officials and consumers alike to call for stronger oversight of network resiliency, given how essential connectivity is to daily life ts2.tech ts2.tech.

Across the Atlantic, Google experienced a significant (if shorter-lived) service disruption on September 4. Around 10:00 a.m. local time in Turkey (0700 GMT), users in Turkey and parts of southern Europe suddenly lost access to various Google services – including Search, Gmail, and YouTube cybernews.com. Outage monitors (like Downdetector) showed service disruption reports flooding in from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and even as far as Germany cybernews.com cybernews.com. A network map shared by a Turkish official indicated the outage impacted wide swaths of Turkey, Southeastern Europe, and even parts of Ukraine and Russia cybernews.com. Google services started coming back online within an hour – by 09:00 GMT reports had dropped off cybernews.com – but the incident drew immediate scrutiny. Turkey’s cybersecurity agency demanded a technical report from Google on the cause of the outage, as announced by the country’s deputy infrastructure minister cybernews.com. Google has not publicly explained the glitch yet. While brief, the Google disruption highlighted the interdependence of internet services – people reported issues not just with Google Search but also with YouTube and even phone contacts (for those synced via Google) cybernews.com cybernews.com. In an era when Google’s ecosystem underpins everything from communications to business operations, even a one-hour outage across multiple countries had noticeable impact on users and stirred officials to seek answers.

In South Asia and the Middle East, government-ordered shutdowns continue to cut off connectivity for millions as a tool for control. In Pakistan, a sweeping mobile internet blackout in Balochistan province – home to ~15 million people – has been ongoing since August 6 and was just extended into early September ts2.tech. Authorities initially shut down all 3G/4G data services in Balochistan for what was supposed to be a short “security operation,” claiming that militants were using the internet to coordinate ts2.tech. But as unrest continued, officials kept the province almost entirely offline past the original August 31 deadline “until further notice,” citing “law and order” concerns ts2.tech. This weeks-long digital blackout has crippled daily life: students can’t access online classes or results, freelancers and remote workers are cut off, telemedicine services have stopped, and businesses are unable to process digital payments due to the signal kill ts2.tech ts2.tech. The Human Rights Council of Balochistan slammed the prolonged outage as a “grave infringement of fundamental rights,” arguing the government is collectively punishing civilians by isolating them digitally ts2.tech ts2.tech. Pakistan has one of the world’s highest rates of internet shutdowns by authorities, and the Balochistan blackout – now entering its second month – underscores the heavy-handed approach to security at the cost of connectivity.

Next door in Iraq, authorities have been wielding the internet “kill switch” for a very different reason: preventing exam cheating. Since late August, the Iraqi government has implemented nationwide internet shutdowns for a few hours every morning during the high school matriculation exams (which run through mid-September) ts2.tech. From 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM each day, all internet access – across all networks, mobile and fixed – is cut off throughout Iraq, impacting ordinary users and businesses along with the students ts2.tech. Both federal Iraq and the Kurdish region have made a habit of these “exam season” blackouts in recent years, after past scandals of test questions leaking online ts2.tech. Education officials defend the drastic measure as necessary to protect the integrity of the exams ts2.tech. But digital rights advocates argue this is a blunt instrument that inflicts broad collateral damage on the economy and society ts2.tech. Every morning, millions of Iraqis – most of whom have nothing to do with the exams – find themselves mysteriously offline, unable to work, trade, or even get news for a few critical hours ts2.tech. By some estimates, Iraq will have clocked over a dozen full-country shutdowns by the time the exam period ends ts2.tech. The practice has drawn domestic and international criticism for treating the internet as a luxury switch to be flipped off at will. As one digital rights group noted, cutting off access to stop cheating is like “burning down a house to kill a fly” – it causes far more harm than the problem it aims to solve.

Not all connectivity losses have been deliberate; some were collateral damage from conflicts and disasters. Over the past week, parts of Syria and Gaza experienced intermittent internet blackouts tied to electricity outages and violence ts2.tech. In Syria’s ongoing civil war, damage to the power grid and telecom infrastructure frequently knocks regions offline ts2.tech. And in Gaza, continuing instability and fuel shortages have led to telecom outages as equipment can’t stay powered ts2.tech. Though these disruptions were relatively localized and short-term, they highlight a sobering digital divide in network resilience: In wealthier, more stable regions (Europe, East Asia, North America) redundant fiber routes and backup systems often prevent single points of failure, so outages tend to be isolated. But in conflict zones or less developed areas, a single fiber cut – or a single order from authorities – can silence connectivity across an entire province or nation ts2.tech. The first days of September mostly spared the internet in the developed world from major outages ts2.tech, underscoring how uneven the reliability of internet access remains globally. The recent incidents – whether technical failures in the U.S. and Europe, or intentional shutdowns in Asia and the Middle East – all reinforce how vital internet connectivity has become, and the high stakes when it falters. From the Verizon meltdown stranding Americans who couldn’t even hail rides or pay for purchases ts2.tech, to Pakistani and Iraqi leaders pulling the plug for security or exams, these events fuel an ongoing debate: does ensuring safety and integrity justify severing access to what is now an essential utility, and how can societies better safeguard their networks against both technical and human threats ts2.tech ts2.tech?

Authoritarian Censorship and Internet Controls

Even as infrastructure expands, government censorship and control measures are tightening in parts of the world. Nowhere was this more evident than in Russia, which implemented a sweeping new package of internet laws on September 1. The laws mark a dramatic escalation of the Kremlin’s ability to monitor and punish online activity – effectively criminalizing certain searches and information access in an attempt to wall off Runet (the Russian internet) from the outside world ts2.tech ts2.tech.

One cornerstone of the new measures is a law that makes it an offense for Russian citizens to even search for banned content online ts2.tech. Under the guise of targeting “extremist” material, the law is so broad that it encompasses any information the state deems forbidden – including content from opposition political groups, independent media, and even resources related to what authorities call the “international LGBT movement.” Now, simply typing in a query or clicking a link about a banned topic could lead to fines of up to 5,000 roubles (~$64) for the user ts2.tech. Notably, the law claims to apply even if a person uses a VPN or other circumvention tool – if Russians try to get around censorship to Google something taboo, that too can be punished ts2.tech. How this will be enforced remains murky (will the state monitor individuals’ search queries? how to prove “intent”?), but analysts say the ambiguity is deliberate. It creates a chilling effect: citizens might avoid searching anything remotely sensitive for fear of triggering penalties ts2.tech. “One of the main tasks [of these laws] is to create fear,” explains Sarkis Darbinyan of digital rights group Roskomsvoboda – to sow enough uncertainty that Russians self-censor their online behavior ts2.tech. Critics note that a malicious actor could even trick someone into clicking a banned link and then blackmail them, given the lack of due process in how violations are determined ts2.tech. The net result is that Russians must now think twice before they search, lest a curious click lead to real-world trouble.

Beyond search censorship, the Kremlin has moved to choke off VPN usage and foreign apps in general. Virtual private networks had been a lifeline for millions of Russians seeking uncensored Internet – a way to read blocked news sites or use Western social media. But a new rule now bans any advertising or promotion of VPN services in Russia ts2.tech. This means VPN providers can’t legally market their tools, and even bloggers or websites recommending how to use a VPN might risk penalties. App stores have already been pressured by regulators to remove popular VPN apps ts2.tech. With this, Russia is tightening the noose on one of the last avenues citizens had to bypass the “great firewall” and see the outside digital world.

At the same time, Russia’s government is pushing its population toward state-approved apps and platforms. As of September 1, all new smartphones, tablets, and computers sold in Russia must come pre-installed with certain Russian-made software ts2.tech. This includes “Max”, a new state-run messaging app touted as a domestic alternative to WhatsApp, and RuStore, a Russia-only app store meant to replace Google Play for Android users ts2.tech. Retailers face fines if they sell devices without these approved apps pre-loaded ts2.tech. The aim is to normalize the use of monitored domestic services over foreign ones. Indeed, Russian officials have openly threatened to ban WhatsApp entirely – one of the few Western services still not blocked in Russia – since its parent company Meta is labeled “extremist” by Moscow ts2.tech. In July, a senior Duma member warned it’s “time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market”, a threat that now looms large ts2.tech. Should WhatsApp get booted, Russians would be steered to the Kremlin-approved “Max” messenger, where their chats presumably could be more easily accessed by authorities.

All these steps are couched as bolstering Russia’s “digital sovereignty” – insulating the Russian internet from foreign influence and “security risks.” Officials argue that if citizens only use domestic apps and see filtered content, the nation’s information space is safer. One lawmaker even defended the harsh search fines by saying it targets only those “one step away from extremism,” and is preferable to outright blocking search engines like Google or messaging apps like WhatsApp ts2.tech. But human rights groups see a more cynical motive: the Kremlin is methodically erecting an iron curtain online, keeping its populace in an information bubble. By penalizing free inquiry and cutting off popular global platforms, the state tightens its grip on public discourse. It’s an approach we’ve seen in places like China and Iran – but Russia’s sudden leap in repression stands out. The first days of September thus captured a stark dichotomy: even as many countries expand internet access, Russia is expanding its internet controls, betting that it can isolate its citizens in a controlled Runet without sparking unrest. Whether Russians find workarounds (as they long have) or retreat into digital silence remains an open question. For now, the message from Moscow is clear: the open Internet is unwelcome, and those who seek it out do so at their peril ts2.tech ts2.tech.

(It’s worth noting that Russia is not alone in tightening internet oversight. Also on September 5, Germany took a much different approach to online harms – focusing on protecting users (minors, specifically) rather than limiting them. The German government convened an expert commission to evaluate measures like banning smartphone use in elementary schools and restricting under-16s from social media germanpolicy.com germanpolicy.com. While not about access per se, it reflects how liberal democracies are grappling with internet risks via regulation, in contrast to authoritarian bans. The German panel of educators, psychologists, and legal experts will propose regulations by 2026 to safeguard children online germanpolicy.com germanpolicy.com. This highlights a broader trend: around the world, debates on internet policy are intensifying – be it about safety or censorship, inclusion or control – and the outcomes will shape who can access what online in the years ahead.)

Satellite Launches and Undersea Cable Expansions

Amid the outages and crackdowns, the physical growth of the Internet’s infrastructure continues apace. Over the past 48 hours, major strides were announced in expanding both space-based and subsea networks that carry the world’s data.

In the skies, SpaceX’s Starlink constellation saw yet another boost. On August 29, SpaceX completed its fourth Starlink launch in a month, sending 24 new broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit ts2.tech. This rapid cadence – essentially one launch per week – is expanding Starlink’s already massive fleet (now over 8,000 active satellites in orbit) and increasing its coverage and capacity ts2.tech. The latest batch is aimed at improving service especially in high-latitude regions ts2.tech. Users in parts of Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and other far-north areas should see stronger signals and faster speeds as these satellites come online ts2.tech. Starlink’s mission is to deliver high-speed Internet to remote or underserved locales globally, and with each launch it fills in more of the gaps. Dozens of countries now have Starlink service available, from rural villages to ships at sea. SpaceX’s frenetic launch pace through late August 2025 underscores how satellite internet – once a niche or backup option – is becoming a mainstream component of global connectivity. By blanketing the sky with thousands of small satellites, Starlink (and similar constellations) can beam the internet to places fiber and cell towers can’t easily reach.

And Starlink won’t be alone up there. Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a rival low-Earth orbit satellite network, is accelerating toward deployment as well. Amazon launched its first two prototype Kuiper satellites earlier in 2025 (in April) to test the system ts2.tech. Encouraged by results, the company just announced that it expects to begin beta service by late 2025, once it has a few hundred satellites in orbit ts2.tech. Amazon has a September 25 launch planned to send up more Kuiper satellites ts2.tech. Ultimately, Amazon aims for a constellation of 3,200+ satellites that can deliver up to 1 Gbps broadband speeds to users on the ground ts2.tech. Like Starlink, Kuiper’s focus is on underserved regions – rural areas, developing countries, and other spots lacking reliable internet. With Amazon’s deep pockets and expertise (and partnerships with launch providers), Kuiper is poised to become a significant player, likely one of the few megaconstellations to rival Starlink. The next few months will be telling as test satellites go up and Amazon refines its customer terminals. But the bottom line is that space-based internet is transitioning from concept to reality, promising to connect communities from the Himalayas to Saharan Africa that previously had to rely on slow or no connectivity.

These satellite developments dovetail with moves to enhance the undersea fiber-optic cables that carry 99% of international data traffic reuters.com. In Africa, two major submarine cable projects were revealed this week, both aimed at fortifying the continent’s internet links.

First, in East Africa, Kenya’s largest telco Safaricom – in partnership with Meta’s infrastructure arm – officially introduced the “Daraja” subsea cable system ts2.tech. Daraja (meaning “bridge” in Swahili) will be a 4,100 km undersea cable linking Mombasa, Kenya to Muscat, Oman across the Indian Ocean ts2.tech. This marks Safaricom’s first investment in its own subsea cable; until now the company relied on leasing capacity from older regional cables ts2.tech. The new $23 million cable is slated to go live in 2026 and will offer a significant capacity boost for East Africa, using 24 fiber pairs (far more than the 8–16 pairs typical in older cables) to provide high bandwidth and redundancy techpoint.africa techpoint.africa. The immediate benefit will be to reduce internet costs and outages in Kenya and neighboring countries. In recent years, East Africa suffered several internet slowdowns due to cuts in existing cables (like SEACOM and EASSy) which revealed how fragile the region’s connectivity was when relying on a few foreign-owned links techpoint.africa techpoint.africa. Daraja is a direct response to that: by co-owning a cable, Safaricom gains independence and flexibility. The company can expand capacity as needed and isn’t at the mercy of external operators if something goes wrong ts2.tech. As a Safaricom statement put it, this strategic move ensures Kenya has greater control over its digital future and can “expand capacity on demand” as internet usage grows ts2.tech. Meta’s involvement (through its subsidiary Edge Network Services) underscores Big Tech’s interest in improving last-mile infrastructure – better internet access ultimately means more users on their platforms. For Meta, backing Daraja complements its investment in the giant 2Africa cable (a 45,000 km cable circling the continent, due to be completed in 2025) techpoint.africa. All told, Daraja will strengthen East Africa’s connections to the Middle East and beyond, making the internet faster, cheaper, and more reliable for millions.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the continent, Djibouti Telecom announced plans to extend the DARE1 submarine cable all the way down to Southern Africa ts2.tech. The DARE1 (Djibouti Africa Regional Express) cable currently connects Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya since 2021 developingtelecoms.com. Under the expansion, a new 3,300 km segment will run from the current terminus in Mombasa, Kenya down to Mtunzini, South Africa developingtelecoms.com. Along the way it will add multiple landing stations: two in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam and Mtwara), three in Mozambique (Nacala, Beira, Maputo), and two in Madagascar (Mahajanga and Toliara) developingtelecoms.com developingtelecoms.com. Construction is expected to start next year (2026) and finish by 2028 when the extended cable goes live developingtelecoms.com. The goal is to create a continuous redundant fiber route from the Horn of Africa down to the southern tip of the continent ts2.tech. This will greatly improve route diversity and resiliency – so that if one cable is cut or a landing station has issues, data can be rerouted along alternate paths. The need for this was highlighted just in the past year, when separate incidents severed undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and the Red Sea, causing connectivity disruptions and security alarms ts2.tech reuters.com. By adding more loops and alternate routes, Africa’s networks become less prone to single points of failure. Djibouti Telecom stated that transforming DARE1 into a regional mega-cable will provide low-latency, high-capacity links for carriers and cloud services from East Africa all the way to South Africa developingtelecoms.com developingtelecoms.com. The project is backed by a consortium including operators in Somalia, Kenya, and now likely partners in the southern countries developingtelecoms.com. Come 2028, once DARE1’s extension is in place, someone in Ethiopia or Somalia could have their internet traffic reach South Africa without traversing Europe or Asia – a big step for African network autonomy.

Finally, across the Pacific, the United States is also taking measures to secure undersea cables – and build more of them faster. On the security front, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this past week adopted new rules targeting the threats of Chinese involvement in subsea cables ts2.tech. American officials have long worried that Chinese-made equipment in cables, or Chinese state-linked companies having stakes in cable projects, could enable espionage or sabotage of the data flows that underpin the global internet reuters.com reuters.com. (Over 400 undersea cables carry essentially all intercontinental web traffic, making them juicy targets for intelligence agencies or hostile actors reuters.com reuters.com.) Under the FCC’s new rules, any new cable connecting to the U.S. will be barred from using equipment or services from companies deemed national security threats – a list that includes Chinese telecom giants like Huawei and ZTE reuters.com. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” noted FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, explaining the need to proactively guard these critical links reuters.com. The Commission is also considering rules to block Chinese and Russian firms from owning stakes in cable licenses that land on U.S. shores steptoe.com reuters.com. These moves essentially extend America’s existing telecom supply blacklist (which covered 5G towers and core networks) to the undersea realm – aiming to prevent hidden backdoors or remote kill switches in the planet’s information highways.

At the same time, the FCC is tackling the opposite problem: the tedious permitting process that has slowed down U.S. cable deployments. Currently, even privately funded cables face years of delay winding through approvals – often involving a multi-agency national security review dubbed “Team Telecom” that can add months or years to a project thediplomat.com thediplomat.com. Acknowledging that red tape has put the U.S. behind in the race to build new cables (while China bankrolls rapid expansions), the FCC unanimously voted to streamline its submarine cable licensing process thediplomat.com thediplomat.com. The new rules will clarify exactly what information applicants need to provide and set conditions under which certain low-risk cable projects can skip the lengthy interagency review thediplomat.com thediplomat.com. The goal is to cut approval times sharply and encourage more investment in cable infrastructure that connects to the U.S. thediplomat.com thediplomat.com. As one analysis noted, faster deployment of cables isn’t just about efficiency – it improves the security and resilience of global data flows by adding more capacity and alternative routes thediplomat.com. Modern undersea cables can cost $30,000–$50,000 per kilometer and span thousands of kilometers ts2.tech, so they’re huge endeavors; but industry players have said regulatory delays and uncertainty were a bigger deterrent than funding. With these reforms, Washington is signaling it wants to remove internal hurdles and better compete with Beijing in what has become a strategic infrastructure arena. In short, expect to see more cables landing on U.S. coasts in coming years, but built only by “trusted” vendors.

Together, the satellite launches and submarine cable projects announced around Sept 4–5 paint a picture of an internet that is simultaneously expanding and being fortified. We’re adding new pathways in space and under the sea to extend connectivity to more people – from remote Arctic villages hooking up to Starlink, to East African startups soon enjoying more bandwidth via Daraja. And we’re also locking down those pathways against emerging risks – be it geopolitical rivalry (FCC’s China rules) or single points of failure (diverse cable routes in Africa). The race to connect the world’s population comes with a parallel race to secure that connectivity against both technical and human threats. The first week of September showcased major leaps on both fronts.

5G Spectrum Auctions and Telecom Initiatives

Next-generation mobile networks were a hot topic this week, as several countries made big moves to roll out 5G and improve broadband for their populations. From South Asia to the Middle East, long-awaited spectrum auctions are finally on the calendar, and new partnerships aim to turbocharge telecom services.

In Pakistan, the government has at last given the green light for the country’s first 5G spectrum auction, with a firm deadline of December 2025 to complete the sale ts2.tech. This decision, revealed during a Senate committee briefing on Sept 2, comes after years of delays and missed targets for 5G in Pakistan – a country of 240+ million that still hasn’t launched commercial 5G while neighbors like China and India forge ahead brecorder.com brecorder.com. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally pushed for the auction to happen by end of 2025 despite various hurdles instagram.com brecorder.com. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, a total of 606 MHz of spectrum will be made available across multiple bands brecorder.com. Critically, this includes prime mid-band frequencies around 2600 MHz and 3500 MHz that are ideal for 5G’s mix of coverage and capacity brecorder.com. (Notably, about 154 MHz of that is currently tied up in litigation between the regulator and operators – a sign of the disputes that had slowed the process brecorder.com.) The government appears determined to push through anyway, arguing that Pakistan’s total mobile spectrum per user is far below regional benchmarks brecorder.com. Officials warned that further delays in 5G would hurt Pakistan’s digital economy and leave it lagging behind its peers brecorder.com. To ensure transparency and a smooth process, an auction advisory committee (led by the finance minister) will review consultants’ proposals and even involve observers like the national accountability bureau to oversee bidding brecorder.com brecorder.com. If all goes well, Pakistani telecom operators could start deploying 5G networks in early 2026, ushering in a new era of high-speed connectivity – from smart cities to telemedicine – in a country where 4G is currently the norm. Given Pakistan’s large, youthful population and thriving tech sector, the introduction of 5G is eagerly anticipated as a potential catalyst for innovation and economic growth (provided affordable devices and broad coverage follow).

Meanwhile, Turkey is on a parallel path. On August 31, Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure announced that the country will hold its 5G spectrum tender on October 16, 2025 reuters.com reuters.com. Turkish mobile users have been waiting a long time for this – Turkey skipped a full 5G rollout and has been operating on “4.5G” (basically advanced LTE) for years, even as Europe and the Gulf states launched 5G. Now, the government is playing catch-up with an accelerated timeline: the auction in October and a goal for carriers to launch 5G services by April 1, 2026 reuters.com reuters.com. The details published in the Official Gazette show Turkey will auction 11 frequency blocks totaling 400 MHz of spectrum across the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands reuters.com. The minimum total price for these licenses is set at $2.125 billion reuters.com, reflecting the high value placed on mid-band 5G frequencies. All three major Turkish operators – Turkcell, Türk Telekom, and Vodafone Turkey – are expected to bid and secure slices of 5G airwaves reuters.com. The government is also looking ahead: existing 2G/3G/4G licenses in Turkey expire in 2029, and after that a new regime will require operators to pay 5% of revenue as license fees going forward reuters.com. For now, though, the focus is on making Turkey 5G-ready. If they hit the April 2026 target, Turkish consumers and industries will finally get to experience true 5G applications – from ultra-HD streaming and AR/VR apps on the consumer side to smart manufacturing, IoT, and mission-critical services on the enterprise side. The move is also somewhat geopolitical; Turkey doesn’t want to fall behind its neighbors (like Greece or Gulf countries) in network tech, and it aims to foster local 5G development (potentially including domestic 5G vendors down the line). In short, the auction is a big deal, heralding Turkey’s entry into the 5G era after a slow start.

Beyond spectrum sales, some groundbreaking telecom partnerships were unveiled, blending connectivity with cutting-edge tech. In India, as mentioned, Reliance Industries (Jio’s parent company) and Meta announced a new joint venture that marries telecom and artificial intelligence. The partnership, with $100 million in initial funding (₹855 crore), will create a company focused on AI-powered digital solutions for businesses techcrunch.com. Meta will own 30% and Reliance 70%, reflecting their respective contributions and strategic interests techcrunch.com. The core of the venture is deploying Meta’s Llama 2 large language model and other AI tech at scale on Jio’s network to offer cloud-based AI services techcrunch.com. For example, an SME in India might use a Jio/Meta AI platform to run a customer service chatbot, or a large bank could use it to automate back-office workflows, all optimized for Jio’s infrastructure. “Through this joint venture, we’re putting Meta’s Llama models into real-world use,” Mark Zuckerberg said, emphasizing how it will help Indian businesses adopt AI affordably techcrunch.com. This move builds on an existing relationship – Meta (and Google) had previously invested billions in Jio Platforms, betting on its potential to digitize India. Now they are going a step further, essentially integrating AI-as-a-service into the fabric of India’s largest mobile network. With 450+ million subscribers, Jio has a vast user base and data center network to leverage. The partnership also highlights a trend of telecoms teaming with Big Tech: we’re seeing telcos go beyond connectivity into digital services, and tech giants relying on telcos to reach customers at scale. In India’s case, this JV could accelerate AI adoption among even small enterprises and startups, leveling the playing field with global competitors in terms of tech capability.

On a different front, telecom operators are innovating to expand access for lower-income users. A standout example is MTN South Africa’s ultra-budget smartphone program. South Africa plans to shut off its 2G and 3G networks by 2027 to free up spectrum for 4G and 5G reuters.com. That posed a dilemma: millions of South Africans – especially in poor and rural areas – still use old 2G/3G phones, and can’t afford 4G smartphones, meaning they’d be disconnected when legacy networks go dark reuters.com. MTN’s answer: sell smartphones for 99 rand (just $5) to those customers, massively subsidizing the cost reuters.com reuters.com. The devices (such as a 5.5-inch Itel Android phone that normally retails for ~R740/$40) will be offered first to a carefully selected 5,000 high-usage 3G customers as a pilot reuters.com. Then in phase 2, 130,000 more customers will get the offer, and ultimately over 1.1 million users will receive a phone upgrade in phase 3 by 2026 reuters.com reuters.com. MTN will eat an operational cost of ~$8–10 per device on logistics and marketing, but views it as an investment in keeping its subscriber base and moving them onto data plans reuters.com. With nearly 40 million mobile customers, MTN knows that if even a fraction were left on 2G, it would both lose them and face criticism for widening the digital divide. The company’s CEO Charles Molapisi framed the initiative in altruistic terms: ensuring “no one is left behind in the digital era” as South Africa transitions to 4G/5G reuters.com. Digital inclusion advocates have praised it, noting that today a smartphone is basically the ticket to the modern internet – without a smart device, one can’t benefit from online education, e-commerce, e-government services, etc. ts2.tech. Selling a quality smartphone for the price of a loaf of bread is virtually unheard of, and it could serve as a model in other developing markets where operators need to retire 2G/3G but fear stranding vulnerable users. For MTN, the payoff is twofold: social responsibility cred and the likelihood that many of those upgraded users will start using data services, mobile money, and other offerings, boosting ARPU in the long run.

In addition, numerous smaller-scale telecom upgrades rolled out during this period. For instance, Smart Communications in the Philippines introduced a new 5G Home WiFi product line on Sept 4 backendnews.net. These are essentially plug-and-play wireless broadband routers that let home users get fast internet without needing any fiber cable installation backendnews.net. Aimed at areas where fixed broadband is unavailable or too slow, Smart’s kits come with generous prepaid data bundles (including an “Unli 1299” plan offering unlimited data for ~$23/month) backendnews.net. The flexibility – no contract, pay-as-you-go data – is great for students, renters, or entrepreneurs who need connectivity but can’t get a wired line backendnews.net. By leveraging its expanding 5G network, Smart is basically offering an immediate broadband solution to the unconnected, which could be transformative in some rural or underserviced Philippine communities. Other telcos in the region are watching closely, as 5G fixed-wireless access could bring millions online more quickly than waiting for fiber cables to every village.

On the governmental side, we saw public-private initiatives at city and national levels aimed at closing gaps. The New York City example – the Liberty Link Wi-Fi project – is a partnership between city agencies and internet providers to blanket public housing buildings with free Wi-Fi ts2.tech. Announced by Mayor Eric Adams, the pilot will start in 5 developments (35 buildings) in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, serving about 2,200 families, with plans to expand if successful ts2.tech. It also includes digital literacy training for residents and is framed as a way to “unlock digital equity” – recognizing that even in a developed city, low-income communities often lack affordable high-speed access ts2.tech. This mirrors other programs in cities like Chicago and L.A., and aligns with federal efforts (e.g. subsidized broadband under the Infrastructure Act). It’s part of a broader understanding that internet access is now a social determinant akin to electricity or transport, and municipalities are investing to ensure their citizens can all log on for school, work, and telehealth.

Stepping back, the flurry of 5G and telecom announcements in early September indicates a pivot toward the future: countries that lagged on 5G are fast-tracking it, telcos are diversifying into AI and fintech, and creative solutions are emerging to bring the last remaining users onto modern networks. As these plans bear fruit over the next 1–2 years, we’ll likely see many more people – from Pakistani students to rural South African farmers – gain access to fast mobile internet for the first time. The challenge will be execution: auctions must attract the right investments, partnerships need regulatory support (e.g. India’s Jio-Meta JV will need approval), and inclusion programs like device subsidies have to be managed to avoid abuse or technical hiccups. But if successful, these initiatives could significantly narrow the digital divide. By the time Paris hosts the Olympics in 2026, we might see a world where 5G is truly global – available from Istanbul to Islamabad – and where even those at the margins have a pathway to get online, whether via a $5 smartphone or a community WiFi hub.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Partnerships and Local Initiatives

In tandem with high-tech launches and policy shifts, there’s a strong undercurrent of efforts focused on inclusion – ensuring that expanded infrastructure actually translates into broader access for ordinary people. Over September 4–5, a number of initiatives, big and small, illustrated the global drive to connect the unconnected and make internet access more affordable and widespread.

At the international level, the United Nations’ ITU (International Telecommunication Union) set the tone with a sobering new report on connectivity. Released September 1, the report highlights that an estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide remain offline as of 2024 – roughly one-third of humanity ts2.tech. While this is a slight improvement from previous years, the digital divide is still gaping, especially between rich and poor regions itu.int itu.int. For instance, internet usage in high-income countries is around 93%, but in low-income countries it’s only 27% itu.int. The ITU warns that bridging this gap to achieve “universal, meaningful connectivity” by 2030 will be enormously expensive – on the order of $2.6 to $2.8 trillion in investments needed itu.int itu.int. That figure (which includes everything from building infrastructure to subsidizing devices and teaching digital skills) is nearly five times higher than the last estimate in 2020, reflecting increased ambitions and the more comprehensive view of what “meaningful” connectivity entails itu.int. However, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin urged the world to see this not as a cost, but as an investment in our shared future. “Digital connectivity means creating opportunities for education, jobs, and access to essential services that can transform lives and communities,” she said, emphasizing that money spent on closing the digital divide will pay dividends in social and economic development itu.int. The ITU’s Partner2Connect initiative has so far garnered about $51 billion in pledges toward connectivity projects (just over half of its $100 billion target by 2026) ts2.tech. Clearly, much more funding – from both public coffers and private capital – will be needed. The report calls for broad collaborations: governments, industry, civil society, and international lenders teaming up in new ways to finance and execute connectivity projects, especially in the 46 Least Developed Countries which are most behind itu.int. It also outlines strategies like using schools as community internet hubs and pairing electrification with broadband in places like Africa itu.int. The backdrop to all this is a sense of urgency: with the rise of digital economies and now AI, those without internet access risk being left even further behind. The ITU wants the world to treat this as a crisis that must be addressed with the same resolve as climate change or public health – a message that resonated in many of this week’s connectivity initiatives.

On the ground, various community-driven and local projects were launched or funded to chip away at connectivity gaps. The Internet Society Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the global Internet Society) announced it is funding nine new community networks across Africa, Latin America, and Asia ts2.tech. Community networks are essentially DIY internet providers – often run by locals or nonprofits – that set up Wi-Fi or small-scale telecom infrastructure in areas commercial ISPs don’t serve. The projects funded include an initiative led by indigenous women in the Amazon rainforest to build local mesh networks ts2.tech, which can connect remote villages with solar-powered routers and share internet from one satellite link. Another is setting up solar-powered Wi-Fi hubs in rural Senegal, and yet another expanding a community broadband network in Uganda】 ts2.tech. These grassroots networks typically operate on shoestring budgets but have outsized impact, bringing connectivity to places that might otherwise wait years for a telco. By empowering local communities to own and operate their own internet access, they also build digital literacy and resilience. The new funding will help with equipment, training, and initial operational costs. It’s part of a growing recognition that one-size-fits-all solutions won’t reach everyone – sometimes the villagers have to become the ISPs, and with a modest grant they can light up their region.

Private companies are also coming up with innovative ways to reach the last-mile user. We’ve discussed MTN’s ultra-cheap smartphone in South Africa and Smart’s wireless home broadband in the Philippines. Another interesting case is in Bangladesh, where as noted, Robi Axiata (the country’s second-largest mobile operator) just partnered with SpaceX Starlink to offer satellite broadband services today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd. This is significant because Bangladesh has tens of millions of people in rural or hard-to-reach areas (river islands, deep inland villages) where even 4G towers are sparse. By reselling Starlink – which can beam internet directly via satellite – Robi can instantly serve those areas with high-speed internet, without waiting to build terrestrial infrastructure. Under the agreement signed Sept 5, Robi will offer Starlink’s equipment and plans through its stores, including a localized “Local Priority” service (likely optimizing capacity for Bangladesh) and a portable “Global Priority” option today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd. This could support everything from rural telehealth clinics to remote schools. Robi’s Chief Commercial Officer, Shihab Ahmad, called it a “transformative step toward bridging Bangladesh’s digital divide.” By enabling high-speed connectivity in remote regions, “Robi is paving the way for communities to access vital digital services, fostering inclusion, innovation, and sustainable progress,” he said today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd. The move illustrates how satellite internet can complement mobile networks – instead of seeing Starlink as competition, Robi is leveraging it to reach new customers. It’s one of the first such partnerships in Asia and could be a model for other developing nations where telcos team up with LEO constellations to extend coverage.

Urban connectivity for underserved groups also got attention. The NYC Liberty Link initiative was one example of a city tackling affordability in dense, low-income areas by providing free Wi-Fi ts2.tech. Similarly, some cities are expanding public Wi-Fi hotspots or offering subsidized broadband to low-income families via vouchers (the U.S. FCC’s ACP program is one, giving $30/month discounts to qualifying households). The first week of September saw many U.S. mayors and community leaders promoting enrollment in such programs as the school year starts, trying to ensure kids have internet for homework.

Even private sector offerings are tackling affordability: an example is Google’s announcement (Sept 4) of a new “Android One SuperLite” smartphone targeted at emerging markets, priced under $50 but with 4G and streamlined apps. (This wasn’t heavily in the news roundup, but it aligns with the theme – tech companies see the next billion users coming from currently offline populations, so they’re designing products for ultra-low cost and power usage.)

All these efforts, from multi-billion-dollar UN blueprints to grassroots Wi-Fi in the Amazon, share a common goal: no one should be left offline in the digital age. The task is Herculean – as the ITU report quantified, it’s in the trillions of dollars and requires unprecedented cooperation. But the early September developments show glimmers of progress. Nations are beginning to treat internet like basic infrastructure, companies are finding novel markets among the underserved, and communities are taking connectivity into their own hands. As one NGO advocate put it, having internet access today is “the prerequisite for participating in the modern economy” ts2.tech – it’s how people apply for jobs, learn new skills, sell products, and stay informed. Without it, existing inequalities only widen.

The first week of September 2025 thus provided a snapshot of a world in flux: parts of the globe are leaping ahead with satellites and 5G, while others still struggle for basic access; some governments invest to connect people, others shut networks down or censor them. The push-pull is evident. Yet, the overall momentum to extend the internet’s reach is undeniable. As the ITU Secretary-General said, connecting the remaining third of humanity is not just charity or tech evangelism – it’s about unlocking human potential on a massive scale itu.int. Each of this week’s news items, from a rural Bangladeshi villager soon getting online via Starlink to a Bronx family getting free Wi-Fi in their building, represents another thread woven into the global web. And with every new connection, the voice of the global community grows more inclusive. The challenge and hope of our time is to ensure that, as we build the next generation of the Internet, we bring everyone along – leaving no corner of the planet in digital darkness.

Sources:

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