Iranians Race to Get Online in Web Blackout; Musk Eyes Fix
- Tehran residents rely on VPNs after Iran cuts internet
- Musk wants sanction exemption to connect Iran with Starlink
A picture obtained by AFP outside of Iran shows demonstrators burning rubbish during a protest in Tehran, on Sept. 21.
Source: AFP/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
People in Iran are relying on virtual private networks to thwart widespread internet outages, amid intensifying street protests. But the workarounds aren’t working perfectly.
On Friday, mobile networks suffered a “full shutdown,” according to Cloudflare, a content delivery network business. That follows nationwide blackouts from 3:30 p.m. until about 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a blog post from the company. Iran’s internet use is heavily mobile-based, with some 85% of site requests coming from mobile devices, the blog added.