Network Monitor

Network Monitor – November 2021

In November, a near-total internet shutdown was imposed at the site of protests in Isfahan, as well as in the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province. 

Amir Rashidi

Filterwatch

08 Dec 2021

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Overall Situation

 

Multiple protests took place in the central province of Isfahan during November. These protests – participated in by a significant number of farmers and agricultural workers – have been taking place on and around the dried-out areas of the riverbed of the Zayanderud River. The demonstrations have been staged to voice anger and frustration around authorities’ handling of chronic water shortages that have affected the province.

On 19 November, as protests continued, reports emerged of internet disruptions in Isfahan Province, though any disruptions appeared to be temporary, and short-lived. 

As clashes between protesters and security forces escalated, a mobile internet shutdown in central areas of Isfahan was confirmed on 26 November, during which time domestic services via the National Information Network (NIN) were also unavailable, while fixed broadband services remained connected. Filterwatch observed that internet connectivity appeared to differ depending on the location and according to proximity to the protests. People close to the center of Isfahan, near the protests, reported receiving text messages from the judiciary instructing them to leave the area immediately.  According to figures from Iran’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), a majority of Isfehan’s population rely on mobile internet to use the internet, with mobile internet penetration rates at 103.78% compared to 17.45% penetration for fixed broadband. 

According to HRANA on 27 November, at least 214 people were arrested during the protests in Isfahan, 13 of whom were children. Some of those arrested have been released following the seizure of their IDs and providing written affidavits and statements, while around 150 have been relocated to a variety of prisons and detention centers. Iran Human Rights confirmed that at least 30 protestors have been hospitalised with eye injuries and at least three protesters have been killed. These figures could rise further as more information becomes available.

 

A localised internet shutdown was also observed in the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan Province on 25 November. At around 10am local time, Irancell began showing disruptions. As outages on other mobile internet providers followed on, the result was a near total global Internet outage. However, local services including sites and apps remained available via the NIN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The video below shows a local user in Ahvaz being able to access the Iranian news outlet Fars News’s website but not Google.com, which is similar to the events of the internet shutdown in Ahvaz in July 2021. 

This is the second time this year that a local internet shutdown has been implemented in Khuzestan Province. The first shutdown occurred after a series of water shortage-related protests in July 2021. Authorities used  hyper-localised network shutdowns to contain the unrest, and crack down on protestors.  

Kentik, a network observability company, was able to observe a dip on AS44244 (Irancell).

Also on 25 November, Filterwatch was also able to observe disruptions on Instagram and Whatsapp. Disruptions on Instagram continued until 27 November. 

 

 

 

Disruptions visible when connecting to Instagram

 

 

 

Disruptions visible when connecting to WhatsApp 

More details on these disruptions are available in our report below.

Regional Outages

Although in November we saw mobile internet outages in the cities of Isfahan and Ahvaz, according to data from IODA, the provinces of Mazandaran, Yazd, Zanjan, Razavi Khorasan, Golestan, Ardebil, West Azarbaijan and Khuzestan all saw varying degrees of internet disruptions as well.

Provider Outages

This AS belongs to an internet service provider. Disruptions on AS49100 affected users in Alborz, Lorestan, Kerman, Isfahan, Semnan and Tehran.

This AS belongs to an internet service provider. It seems AS49100 lost all of its darknet as their website was also down and appeared to have technical issues, however it’s not clear what caused the outage on Tarashe Sabz Tehran Co. Ltd.

This AS serves as one of the largest internet providers in Iran. The disruption on AS42337 primarily affected users in Mazandaran, Razavi Khorasan, Khuzestan, Qazvin, Alborz, Kerman, and Kermanshah.

This is a local ISP in Tehran. The disruptions on their network affected users in Tehran.

This AS serves the third mobile network in Iran. The disruption on AS57218 primarily affected users in Tehran.

However, Filterwatch research also shows that all mobile data, including RighTel, was cut off in the city of Ahvaz.

Irancell is a nationwide mobile provider. Irancell data was completely cut off in the cities of Ahvaz and Isfahan. However, IODA data only shows disruption in Tehran.

This AS is an internet provider in Iran. The disruption on AS39501 primarily affected users in Qazvin and Khorasan Razavi.

 

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