Islamabad [Pakistan], September 30: Afghanistan's fibre optic internet has been shut down across the country, local media reported on Monday, marking the first time fibre optic access has been cut nationwide.
TOLOnews, a prominent Afghan broadcaster, reported that the disruption is also affecting its television and radio transmissions.
Internet speeds are reportedly expected to be downgraded from 4G to 2G in the coming hours or days. Meanwhile, mobile networks are inaccessible when called from outside Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Telecommunications has not responded to media inquiries regarding the shutdown.
The disruption initially followed an order by the Taliban's supreme leader, reportedly aimed at curbing "immorality."
However, later reports indicated that the ban was lifted after the fibre optic network was reconfigured to a point-to-point system.
The outage has raised concerns about its impact on essential services. Many government functions - including banking, passport issuance, national ID processing, and customs operations - rely heavily on high-speed internet.
While both previous Afghan governments and the Taliban have suspended mobile network services during ceremonial or sensitive periods for security reasons, this marks the first nationwide cut in fibre optic access.
Source: Qatar Tribune
