Chad: Business and Communication Crippled by Ongoing Internet Blackout

Yaoundé, Cameroon — Civilians in Chad are facing significant disruptions to their daily lives and businesses due to an Internet outage that began on Tuesday morning, October 15. The blackout has left many unable to access essential online services, creating frustration and confusion among the population.

Kaimoui Fabrice, a student at the University of N'Djamena, shared his experience with Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday. He expressed his dismay at the government's apparent indifference, noting that he has been unable to conduct online research or communicate with his supervisor at the University of Lyon in France since the outage began. Kaimoui emphasized the impact of the Internet blackout on students, stating, "We are angry because the internet blackout deprives us of our right to education and limits our access to information and freedom of expression."

The situation has prompted criticism from the public, with many Chadians believing the outage was intentionally ordered by the government under the guise of security measures. In response to these allegations, Chad's Prime Minister Allamaye Halina stated that he was surprised by the public's perception, insisting that the outage was not a government directive. He acknowledged that the shutdown has hindered government offices from providing services, contributing to a general paralysis of business activities across the country.

Halina conveyed the government's regret over the situation, recognizing the negative impact on commerce and the daily lives of civilians. He assured the public that the government had instructed the Minister of Communication to liaise with the telecommunications companies, SAFITEL and SOTEL, to expedite the restoration of Internet services.

Boukar Michel, Chad's Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, indicated that the government is working closely with officials in neighboring Cameroon, which provides Chad with its Internet connectivity. He revealed that technicians in Cameroon are currently engaged in emergency repairs on the broken fiber-optic cables located in the Adamawa region, which shares a border with Chad. However, adverse weather conditions, including flooding, have complicated access to the repair sites, delaying the restoration efforts.

Minister Michel expressed dissatisfaction with the Internet service providers, criticizing them for not adequately communicating the nature of the outage to users. He pointed out that many civilians wrongly assume the blackout is a government order, rather than a result of infrastructural damage.

In the absence of clarity from the authorities, speculation has grown among the public regarding the reasons behind the Internet disruption. Many believe it is politically motivated, especially with local and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 29. Succes Masra, the president of the Transformers party, Chad's main opposition party, has called for the elections to be postponed until 2025. He cited ongoing floods, which have caused significant loss of life and displaced nearly two million people, as a reason to delay the elections.

The government, however, remains firm in its commitment to hold the elections as planned, denying claims that the Internet shutdown was intended to prevent youths from organizing and mobilizing through social media as the election date approaches.

The current outage echoes previous incidents in Chad, including a disruption prior to the May 6 presidential elections, which was justified as a security measure following a deadly attack on the internal security agency. Connectivity was again interrupted in June after the opposition contested the election victory of President General Mahamat Idriss Deby. During these earlier outages, only individuals equipped with Starlink technology retained Internet access, highlighting the disparity in connectivity options available to the general public.

As the situation develops, the urgency for a resolution grows, with many Chadians eager to restore their digital connections and regain access to information and services that are essential for their daily lives.