Internet users in Ethiopia have confirmed that they had to deal with internet blackout for over two months. Apparently, a few people had access to the internet during the time. They were either government officials or technical staff.

Some reports suggest that the shutdown was a measure by the Ethiopian government to curb malpractice in its national exams. Certain data show that the internet outage affected the entire country. It started with partial disruptions that affected some of the eastern regions and northern regions of Ethiopia.

Some online reports, however, suggest that the blackout had a political undertone. They said the blackout coincided with a major assassination attempt. There had been an attempted coup and assassination attempt on senior Ethiopian government officials.

About 98% of Ethiopia had gone offline at the time the news of the coup attempt started to spread. However, users of the internet in the country have now confirmed that internet connectivity has been restored. They took to social media to announce the return of internet access. It was estimated that the country was losing US$4.5 million daily as a result.

Before now, Sudan was a victim of a similar circumstance. They had an internet shutdown due to security and political reasons. Mauritania also had an internet cut following a controversial presidential election and so did Chad for over a year.

In Ethiopia, however, mobile networks are reportedly yet to restore internet connectivity as the Wi-Fi users seem to be the only ones with access.