In order to overcome the regime’s orchestrated disruption of internet and telephone services in resistance stronghold regions, satellite internet has gained widespread adoption in certain areas. These townships, which were previously disconnected from the internet, including Thantlang, have recently started employing satellite-based internet services.
Research organizations report that since the coup, the Military Council has severed phone and internet access in nearly 50 resistance stronghold townships in Myanmar, a country comprising 330 townships.
Earlier this month, some organizations revealed that Thantlang, the first town to be set ablaze by the Military Council after the coup, now has had its own internet for approximately a year.
Starting from August 2022, Team Znet, the technical support group of Thantlang People’s Administration, has been delivering private wireless internet services within Thantlang.
“"We can offer private Internet services, but we're grappling with high electricity and equipment costs, along with the need for funding”, a Team Znet official told Than Lwin Times. "Accessing electricity in Chin State is very difficult. When utilizing other technologies, electricity becomes our second hurdle”, he added.
Team Znet currently offers wireless internet services to the armed resistance forces, departments under the People's Administration, healthcare facilities and the People's Police, and continues to strive to make it readily accessible to the general public.
Nearly 40% of Thantlang Township currently enjoys 20 Mbps internet access, with plans to expand coverage to additional areas in the coming years.
In June, David Eubank, the founder of Free Burma Rangers (FBR), mentioned that Karenni State, isolated from Internet access by the Junta, has initiated the use of Starlink Internet.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to over 54 countries.Starlink Internet is currently widely used by Karenni State's revolutionary forces, which have overcome the Military Council's internet blockades.
Military and political analyst U Than Soe Naing criticized the Military Council for cutting off the Internet, causing significant hardships for the public, and not just the resistance forces.
On November 22nd, the Military Council declared that individuals using satellite internet services in Myanmar must obtain a license, and those failing to comply with these regulations will be subject to prosecution under Section 67 of the Telecommunications Law.
An independent research group reported that all 330 townships in Myanmar have recently suffered calculated disruptions in phone and internet access at least once, since the coup, with Karenni and Chin State being the most severely affected.
Amidst 'Operation 1027' initiated by the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the coordinated offensive efforts of the multiple resistance forces, the Military Council has once again cut off internet access in Rakhine, Mon, Karenni, Chin, Kachin, Karen States, and Sagaing Region.
According to a July report from ‘Economy Online’, Myanmar has emerged as the most severely affected country world-wide, in terms of phone and internet disruptions following the coup.
